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#i think taylor has a lil more self awareness
9w1ft · 7 months
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taylor is definitely the riddler for sure
ahh but in my metaphor prompt, taylor is the batman and all of us fans are the various villain characters 😌
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thissugarcane · 3 months
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justin taylor <3
I started writing this in a comment response to a very kind commenter on "swimming with sharks" on ao3, but then realized I was rambling rambling rambling away, so decided to put it here, instead. also it's one of two things I desperately want to fix about the season 5 rewrite which I want to do via "show not tell" (aka I don't want to explicitly say, or have anyone say via dialogue, "this is justin's journey to Discover Himself", but that's what I want to write).
So! The point that I think people sometimes miss (or maybe just don't focus on because usually, he is so self-aware compared to the others) about Justin: he is a teenager. and, like a teenager, he will try on different identities to see what sticks. he's strong and determined and kind and stubborn and god forbid someone tell him to do anything-- but he's also not a fully realized personality. (By the end of the show he is)
this comes out in the way that he mimics people he admires / fucks, throughout the show.
Like, obviously I don't think Justin is as eager to "be shown an identity to mold himself to" (like say, Michael is, for better or worse). But he definitely shows signs of using others around him, that he admires for whatever reason, to try on different identities.
He most obvious: Brian. So season one (and two) he's with Brian (or trying to be with Brian.) And we see him going clubbing / enjoying tricking and public sex and everything that Brian says is important. (I would argue that he does like those things, and I will stand by the idea that, while Justin might want to settle down, I don't think monogamy from his partner is as important as stability and security. But obviously being a club kid is a personality he tries on, and decides isn't exactly who he is.)
Then, he's with Ethan; he leaves The Club Kid Who's Agressively Queer And Proud behind to be With The Young Romantic Musician. And then we see him wearing turtlenecks and Being A Pretentious Art Student. Only, you see signs he doesn't like this particular identity, especially at that one party where he tells Ethan's friend off right before Carnivale. He prefers the atmosphere of Carnivale, even if he doesn't really like either. And I would argue Justin does like some of the things that go with this identity: the bathtub, the romance of eating on the floor in a small cozy hovel.
So he goes back to Brian, and they sort of do their own thing.... until Just 'gets with' Cody. It might not be romantic, but it's a significant relationship at the time. Justin shaves his head and gets off on agression. Would he do this if he weren't struggling with anger management and everything else? We have to assume no, since he, well, doesn't… but at the time, Cody is a personality he tries on, to try and deal with Stuff. *waves hands at PTSD*
When he goes to LA, Justin's 'with' Connor, and we see him go back to tricking and anonymous sex / sex parties, but it's in a suuuper LA way: he's at a rich sex party, he's being dragged to glitzy events, everything is super shallow. And -- I have to tell myself he didn't fuck Connor more than once or I get really sad, so it's just a lil crush that he avoids, sure -- he sounds really disappointed when his "in" to the all-access LA party scene, Connor, is done with him.
So he comes back home to Pittsburgh, and has Brian again... only he isn't sure who he is or, most importantly, who he wants to be. This was the character struggle I would argue the writers gloriously failed to depict in season 5, btw: Justin wanted Brian. He just didn't know who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do, for himself. (By the end of the season, arguably, he'd figured it out: he was determined, and he was strong, and he was a survivor, and he was gonna go be an artist, whatever hardship and slogging through galleries and schmoozing and bullshitting and people he wanted to murder he had to kiss ass. he was going. to. be. an. artist.)
they were just real bad at like. the journey to get there.
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never have I ever been more offended by any take on TEC like this one lol
Trsom
TLBOTW
also this
Anyways I accidentally stumbled on this person’s blogs and usually I don’t care people can hate malec idc To each their own but-
I see people saying that tec was purely for fan service and like even if it was I don’t see the problem? I mean not everything has to be deep. books can be meaningless (not that tec didn’t have a meaning I love tec).
also not to dish on this person I get hating CC or any book series or whatever but they have spent the past 5 years on this blog hating on every single tsc character like bro are you okay? if you don’t like something move on
Okay, um, LMAO. First of all, rsom.
Yeah it was originally advertised as NA, but it was changed to YA later on. Cassie literally announced it herself??? OP would’ve known if they literally paid any attention to Cassie other than hating on her every moment they got lol 😭
Also,
OP - the final fight was shit
Me, whose favourite part of rsom was the final fight -
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Also imagine thinking this entrance wasn’t badass as fuck-
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(And also soft as fuck 🥺)
OP Magnus did NOT go all ‘eh 🙄’ when Jace was mentioned just for you to say there’s JaCe WaNk in this book like wth 😭😭😭 (like, okay, maybe Jace is a lil overrated in-universe, but there’s enough self-awareness of that and in-universe acknowledgement too, especially from Simon and Magnus’s POVs).
ALSO. MOST IMPORTANTLY.
Yes, Alec seems different between trsom and cofa, but like??? In trsom Alec specifically states that he wishes never to meet any of Magnus’s exes, and in cofa, he literally meets one of Magnus’s worst exes, in a terrible situation no less. Trsom is literally a vacation, a getaway. There’s a reason the tone of trsom feels so different from any other tsc book (I mean. Hot air balloon dinners and peaceful late night walks while holding hands? Soft dancing and long drives in a Maserati and two and a half whole pages of the softest lazy cuddling you’ll ever see and don’t even get me started on the ending omg). Like, despite the stakes, there’s still something casual and soft and sweet about trsom. Trsom is the literal definition of *slow motion double vision in rose blush* (Taylor Swift, always right). Trsom is Magnus and Alec having rose tinted glasses on, but during cofa the glasses come off and they have to confront the harsh realities of their relationship.
Besides, there was plenty of foreshadowing in rsom for their issues to come. Alec not wanting to meet Magnus’s exes. Alec comparing his life experiences to Magnus’s like they were books. Alec being insecure about Tessa. Magnus thinking about how he couldn’t tell Alec the whole truth about himself lest he lose Alec or even worse, put him in danger (thanks, Ass-hoe-dues 😑). And… did op even read the same book cause like… despite everything, they were still struggling to communicate about some issues in this book. Alec literally goes “ANYWAYS-“ in the middle of a conversation about Magnus’s immortality and his own mortality. Magnus deflects questions about his past so many times. Magnus makes some progress, of course (the fireside scene), but that gets stomped on by end no thanks to Shinyun and Asshoedues. Yay. 😭
*ehem* anyways, onto lbotw
Ok. Listen. First of all - I’m struggling not to cry-laugh rn but - YES ALEC WAS HORNY AS SHIT EVEN THOUGH MAGNUS WAS CHANGING BECAUSE OF THE SVEFNTHORN SO WHAT??? THATS WHY WE FUCKING LOVE HIM??? (Also, OP, these two are very sexually frustrated after spending a good couple of weeks continuously looking after Max give them a break lmao)
Also, I thought the explanation for why Alec could reverse the svefnthorn’s effects was… pretty much self-explanatory?? He’s got the alliance rune, which lets him use warlock magic, hence he survived the stabbing. And he’s a shadowhunter, he’s angel blooded, which along with him being able to use warlock magic (and specifically Magnus’s magic) somehow let him draw the thorn out of Magnus. Idk how to articulate it but you know what I mean???
Also, OP, this isn’t the MCU where you have to watch like 2134 movies and shows to get what’s happening 😭😭😭 like, yeah, the knowledge may seem unnecessary to us but if someone for any reason decided to read only tec then it helps them know what’s happening? 🤷‍♀️ Like, yes all the series are interconnected but each series still manages to stand on its own and that’s kinda neat tbh.
Idk why I’m ranting about every aspect of OP’s posts but anyway yeah lol
ALSO they mentioned having a copy of lbotw???? They LITERALLY bought lbotw with their own money????? I’m seriously laughing right now like BRO. WHY WOULD YOU SPEND MONEY ON SOMETHING YOU DONT LIKE???? You tag all your posts with ‘anti cc’ but you’re giving her your cash anyway like- ma’am there’s only one loser in this situation and it’s not Cassandra Clare 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Honestly I find the last post even funnier now. You would’ve paid money just to see that sex scene, op. Don’t even try lying to me 🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, idk what happened but like… the charity thing didn’t happen???? And I think that’s more important, the fact that she didn’t write Malec’s first time as a lone one shot for charity. (Also, if OP had dug a little deep, they’d have found the first ever snippet of rsom, which was supposedly Malec’s first time but never made it into the book. It’s possible Cassie did start writing that one shot, but then decided to write a whole book, and then cut that scene out because it didn’t fit and wrote the one we have in our books today).
Like, yeah Cassie is problematic sometimes buuuut unlike a lot of other authors, she actively listens and learns and corrects her mistakes. And that’s good enough for me. 🤷‍♀️
And yes!!! Who cares if it’s fanservice or whatever. It’s still queer content. It gives me a shit ton of serotonin. And who doesn’t like serotonin??? I don’t even know what to say to those people cause like… they’re still actively hating on and boycotting a queer book series. Like, idc how they spin it, it’s still gonna look BAD 🤷‍♀️
I didn’t mean for this to get so long sksksksks 😭😭😭
Anyway, thanks for adding someone to my blocklist anon 😘
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the-demelza-robins · 4 years
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american high school!jily (i)
hi! here’s the first chapter of my american high school au! it’s also on ao3 and ffnet! 
LILY EVANS DOES NOT THINK OF JAMES POTTER. She does not think of him — loud, funny, arrogant — as she walks to the bus stop each morning (she does, however, regret the fact that she doesn’t have her driver’s license yet). She does not think of him as she gets her textbooks from her locker (she does think of Roger Davies, though). She does not think of him as she moves from classroom to classroom, notebook to notebook, assignment to assignment. She does not think of him as she takes yearbook photos and attends Feminists of Northwood High meetings. She does not think of his eyes (hazel) or his hair (dark brown, almost black, always ruffled does he even try) or his face (a mishmash of features that, admittedly, only he can pull off).
There are, however, plenty of other people — girls, especially — who do think of James. Girls who think of his eyes (captivating, intense) and his hair (perfectly messy) and his face (jawline, glasses). Girls who watch him sit at the best table in the cafeteria with Sirius and Remus and Peter, trading jokes back and forth and smiling easily, and wish, fervently, that they could be pulled into his vortex, into his charisma, into his confidence. 
Lily doesn’t look down on these girls — no, that would be borderline misogynistic of her. She just doesn’t understand the appeal, because, to her, James Potter has always seemed a little too sharp around the edges, a disco ball made of jagged glass, to provoke any feelings of fondness or… more. Her impression of him is no doubt colored by Sev, who, despite now being the poster boy for fucking Brietbart, used to tell her things. Used to tell her what James would do, how his friends — “they call themselves the Marauders, Lil, how presumptuous is that” — would take a laugh at his expense. James Potter is smart, the thing is, and observant, and he knew just what to say — just what buttons to push — in order to get Sev where it really hurt.
Whatever. The point is, James Potter is sharp, and Lily doesn’t want to prick her finger. 
So, when James walks over to Lily on the first day of October and asks her to go out with him, ignoring the fact that she’s fulfilling her very important duties as yearbook editor-in-chief by taking photos of the soccer team — Roger Davies is the “keeper,” which Lily has learned means goalie, and James is a striker, whatever the hell that means, and Lily thinks it’s unfair that James gets all the glory when Roger is the backbone of the team, but whenever she tries this argument on her friends, they dismiss it on the grounds that she has a not-so-tiny crush on Roger and therefore is biased — Lily says no.
“No?” James repeats, and for a second Lily feels almost bad for him, ruffled hair and eyes blinking at her from behind those glasses of his. 
“No,” she affirms. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
He nods, and twists around to look at Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who are all laughing — at him or at her, Lily can’t be sure, but either way it makes her skin prickle — from the sidelines. “Hey, she said no!”
“Fuck,” Sirius says, his voice carrying in a way he must be aware of. “Sorry, Evans!”
Lily is a little surprised that Sirius knows her name. Surprised, perhaps, because she thinks of him only as Marlene’s fiercest crush, the reason why so much Taylor Swift leaks out of her friend’s aging Toyota. No, Sirius is not a person, not in Lily’s head. The collision of these two worlds — Marlene’s and reality’s — makes her very uncomfortable. 
“For what?” Lily yells back, rolling her strained neck (that camera weighs heavier than she remembered — technically taking photos is below her paygrade, but fucking Lucius skimped out again because of a “family emergency” and she has to get them in in time, and besides… a plausible excuse to look at Roger is certainly not something she would ever pass up on.
“Sorry for unleashing James on you, it was a dare,” Sirius shouts, and one of the practicing soccer players tells them to either shut up or go somewhere else. Lily rolls her eyes and makes a decision. She could walk towards them, cross the social line, discover what “unleashing James” means. 
She doesn’t. She shrugs and walks away. 
“See you around, Evans?” James calls, voice strangely strangled-sounding. She thinks she imagined it. 
***
The next time she sees him, he’s probably drunk, holding a red solo cup in his left hand and high fiving Sirius with his right. She watches him from across the room — it’s not intentional, she tells herself, but she does— as he chats with his friends.
“Lily. Lilylilylily,” a drunk Dorcas whines, tugging on Lily’s sleeve like a four year-old.
“What?” Lily asks, recalibrating and facing her friend. 
“Mary. It’s Mary. Mary from P.E.”
Following her friend’s gaze, Lily confirms that Mary from P.E. is indeed also in Sirius’s house for this random party, chatting with Romilda Vane, a sophomore a year younger than her. “I see her.”
“Why is she talking to Romilda?” Dorcas asks, way too loud, and Lily drags her friend up the stairs and through the nearest door. The abundance of death metal memorabilia tells her that they’re in Sirius’s bedroom.
“I thought you were done with Mary.”
“I never started with Mary,” Dorcas says petulantly, plopping unceremoniously onto the unmade twin in the corner. “Mary is pretty. Mary is sweet. Why is Mary speaking to Romilda Vane?”
“Maybe Mary likes Romilda Vane,” Lily suggests gently, sitting down on the bed next to Dorcas. 
“I thought Mary liked me.”
“I don’t —”
“I think that Romilda should go home. GO HOME, ROMILDA.”
“Don’t shout, someone might hear,” Lily replies, thinking of the cracked-open door.
“Then they can join me in telling Romilda to go home.” 
Lily is about to formulate some response to this when the door swings open, and who but James Potter steps in, arm slung around Gretchen Prewett’s waist, hair messier than usual. He’s whispering to the girl, smile tugging at his face, and just as he’s about to lean in, he sees Lily. 
Is it just the lighting, or does his face go slightly red? Lily knows hers did. James opens his mouth as if to say something, but nothing comes out.
Gretchen’s eyes shift from Lily to James and back. Lily grabs Dorcas’s hand and pulls her friend past them and down the stairs. 
Around a half hour later, James and Gretchen follow. 
***
“Evans!” 
Lily slams her locker door shut and turns towards the voice. “What do you want, James?”
“Sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” he responds, that annoying, way-too-full-of-himself grin on his face. 
“I’m betting you did, considering that your hair looks like that,” Lily shoots back, shouldering her backpack. She has plans to meet Sev, plans involving ice cream, and doesn’t want to be late because James Potter decided he wanted a verbal sparring partner. 
James whistles. “Nice one. Listen, Lily…” he pauses, and for a second she sees something like vulnerability on his face. The halls are basically empty now — it is a Friday, after all, and no one lingers if they can help it — and for a second it feels like the air has compressed around her, around them, until the only sounds in the world are James’s intake of breath as he prepares to speak again. 
“There’s — my mom has a garden that she’s working on, and I remember you saying that you like flowers, and — well — do you want to garden with me? Sometime?”
“Lil?” The air expands again.
Lily turns, and there’s Sev, standing with his too-long hair and his messenger bag, looking confused and angry and betrayed, most of all. 
“Of course it’s Snivellus,” James mutters, and all of the vulnerability is gone, the mask of self-assurance pulled firmly back into place. 
A lot has happened in the past five minutes, but those words are the only ones that Lily latches onto. “What do you mean, ‘of course it’s Snivellus’?” she snaps, turning back to face James in full, with all of the fiery self-righteousness only a seventh grader can possess. 
James opens his mouth and closes it again, eyes shifting between Lily and Sev. “Of course,” he says, voice cool and measured, “it’s Snivellus. Your guard dog, huh, Evans? See the big bad James Potter and he’ll come running, because God forbid you talk to anyone — hang out with anyone — but him.”
“You’re out of line, James,” Lily says, feeling her cheeks coloring and hoping that Sev won’t notice. “I would never pick flowers with you.”
With that, she turns on her heel, towards Sev, towards ice cream, towards the planned banality of the afternoon. 
When freshman year began, things shifted. Sev joined the Alternative Media Club and started spouting shit. People noticed James, and he stopped noticing Lily. Roger moved to their town from Seattle. Life seemed more pressing, more tangible, more present. And that was that. 
***
Besides, Lily has other things — other boys — to worry about. She’s had a massive crush on Roger Davies since freshman year, and for good reason: he’s kind. Considerate. Talks to the frosh even though he’s a senior like her and has every reason to ignore them. Has a killer smile, the right height, and broad shoulders. Perfect. 
If only — well. She and Roger are perfectly friendly, but she doubts he knows anything about her; she doubts he thinks anything about her. Logically, Lily has known this since freshman year, but, still, she stays within his sightline. She wore makeup tonight, more than usual. She hopes he’ll look up and see her, like the male love interest does in all of Marlene’s favorite movies; hopes he’ll realize that the one he’s been looking for has been right in front of him the entire time. 
Lily knows how stupid she’s being. She also knows that, when he does (finally) make eye contact with her (once, but she swears he held it for a second longer than normal), her heart starts to race. So there’s that. 
***
James joins yearbook, with means that Sirius, Remus, and Peter join yearbook. Lily was tempted, when they first showed up outside room 304, to tell them to leave — she knows their respect for authority is basically natch, and she needs order if the yearbook is going to be any good this year — but she bites her tongue. James ignores her, anyway, or at least he does until discussion of the theme comes up. Roger and Lily had already settled on Outer Space, and the rest of the staff were on track to agree — that is, until James stands up and makes an impassioned speech in favor of Animals, egged on by Sirius shouting “hear, hear!” every few minutes. Lily shuts it down and sends the so-called Marauders to take photos of the Bible Study club as punishment. James bounds out of the room, camera bouncing against his chest in a way that makes Lily want to tear her hair out because he’s gonna break it. 
When the meeting’s over, Roger walks out of the building with her. 
“You were good with them,” he says. “James and — the rest.” 
“Oh,” Lily says, and she’s definitely blushing now. “Thanks.”
He smiles — an easy grin — and walks towards his car. Marlene honks from hers, and Lily hops in. Later, when Mar drops her off at her house, she has a text from an unknown number. 
Potter broke the camera — Roger
Lily knows she should be mad about the camera, but she can’t quite summon the emotion. Instead, something glittering flutters through her. 
Roger Davies’ number is now in her phone. 
***
James doesn’t have an excuse at the next meeting. He just stares at the floor when Roger asks how the camera broke, and Lily can’t help but notice that it’s unlike James to be quiet. Ever. 
She shrugs the thought off; she has work to do. Important work, like getting official pictures of every club, affinity group, and forensics team in her sprawling, one-thousand student high school. Later, walking down a back stairwell and marveling at her luck at being able to get the photos for both the presidents of Cheese Club and the cohort leaders of Girls Who Code in the same fifteen-minute time frame, Lily hears voices. Familiar ones. 
“Why didn’t you just tell them?” the first one says. Lily immediately identifies the lazy drawl as Sirius’s. 

“What kind of friend do you think I am, idiot?” James’s voice — sharper, yet friendlier, even as he insults his friend — replies. Lily looks over the banister and sees that the pair is standing on the steps a flight down, (new) cameras around their necks.
“It’s just Peter,” Sirius snorts. “Not a big deal. His dad would’ve paid for it anyway.”
“You know how Roger is with Peter,” James says in a hushed tone that makes Lily lean even further over the bannister. “He’d tear him to pieces. Besides, it’s just a camera. Mom’ll be happy to reimburse the school when she hears why I said I did it.”
“Will she, though? You know how she gave us that whole speech about responsibility and digging our own graves and stuff like that.”
James stiffens slightly, the lines of his jaw and the straight of his back becoming slightly more pronounced as he fiddles with his hands. “I’ll talk to her.”
“But she said —”
“I know what she said, Sirius.”
“But soccer —”
“I’ll figure it out!” James says sharply. After a second, he buries his head in his hands. “Sorry. ‘M really tense. It’ll all work out.” 
Sirius stands. “It better.”
Lily’s phone starts to vibrate, and she hurries back up the stairs before she’s discovered, mind reeling. 
You know how Roger is with Peter. He’d tear him to pieces.
The Roger she knows — thinks she knows — would never hurt someone, and definitely not over a stupid camera. Right?
***
“I can’t believe — he’s insufferable — the camera —”
“We have insurance,” Lily says, watching Roger pacing the room. 
“That we had to fight to get the school to sponsor! Ms. Rodriguez is going to freak the fuck out and… Jesus, Lily, why aren’t you more upset by this?”
“Because it’s not a big deal! We’ll get the new camera and chew James out, and he won’t go it again.”
At this, Roger stops pacing. “No. We need to kick them out.”
“What?”
He puts his hands on a desk between them, leaning in ever so slightly. “Lily. They broke a camera. They’ve cost this school — us — hundreds of dollars. And they’re not even good at yearbook! They only joined because —”
“Because what?” Lily asks, annoyed. 
Roger purses his lips. “Not my secret to tell, but it’s so fucking obvious.” 
“Then tell me.” 
He shakes his head, runs a hand through his hair. “No. Can we at least… put them on probation?” 
“Yearbook probation?” Lily says disbelievingly, trying to reconcile this version of Roger with the one in her head, puzzle pieces mashing against each other but not sliding into place. She doesn’t understand why Roger is so upset, but James’ words keep echoing in her head. He’d tear him to pieces. “I didn’t know that existed.”
“You’re right. It’s fine. I’ll email Ms. Rodriguez.” 
Lily exhales. “Thank you.” 
He shoulders his bag, takes a deep breath. “Okay. I have practice, but I’ll text you once I’ve sent the email.”
Lily knows she should be ecstatic at the promise of more communication with him, but, as she watches him go, she can’t quite summon the excitement. You know how Roger is. No, she doesn’t. 
read part two here!
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isthisthingeven0n · 5 years
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time off : d.d / n.m
brief summary: you’re in a relationship with david and natalie, but you’re struggling with the lack of time you see them now that they have a new assistant. 
word count: 456 requested:yes by the sweetest anon - i hope you like it angel warnings: none that i’m aware of
* I just wanna say my requests are closed for a while! I know you guys wanna send ideas in, but can you hold off for a week or so if that’s okay - just so I can catch up :) *
* masterlistin’ / masterlistin’ 2.0
(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it isn’t me. all rights reserved.)
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“Hey, where’s David?” Jason walks in with his camera, immediately noticing you on the sofa curled up on your phone.
Lifting your head up, Jason has never seen you look more irritable. “Working.” You mutter and Jason chuckles to himself.
“Who with?” He asks, only to hear you sigh loudly.
“With Taylor and Natalie.” You state clearly, spite being evident in your tone as Jason walks over and sits on the sofa.
“Is someone a lil jealous of the new assistant?” Jason sings and you roll your eyes before sitting upright.
Shaking your head in response, you look over to see Jason raising an eyebrow. You know he isn’t buying the lie you’re trying to sell, so you force a nod.
“I just barely get to spend time with them anymore. And I know they’re working, but I just miss them.” You whine, knowing how pathetic you sound but it’s true.
“Why don’t you see if they have any work you can chip in on?” Jason suggests but watches as you tilt your head and give him a blank stare. “Or not?”
“I don’t want to work for them, Jase. They’re my partners, not my colleagues.” You state coldly before you snuggle closer into the sofa. “I just miss seeing them all the time, like they get to spend all day together and now there’s Taylor too.”
Jason nods before he rises to his feet, heading toward the makeshift office whilst you wallow in self-pity.
*
Letting out a loud yawn, you rub your eyes as David walks into the living room. “Hey babe,” He calls out as he takes a seat beside you. “listen, me and Nat were thinking we could go away for a few days, you in?”
You raise an eyebrow in curiosity as you sit upright, your legs resting over his lap. “Why the sudden suggestion?” You question and David opens his lips to respond, but Natalie cuts him off.
“So the three of us can have some needed downtime.” She states loudly before shuffling next to you allowing you to nuzzle into her. “I miss you, Y/n.” She pouts and David nods too, catching your attention.
“We realise that we’re working a lot and you aren’t with us all the time. So, Taylor is sorting a few things and we can scrape a few days off.” 
Looking between them, you let out a small sigh. “Are you sure that’s okay, I don’t wanna ruin your schedules.” You comment, but Natalie shakes her head as she rests her hand on your thigh. 
“Baby, we wanna spend time with you, so we’re doing it.” She states as you lean into her, suddenly feeling less guilty as you cosy up to your partners happily. 
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taste-in-music · 4 years
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My Favorite Hit Songs of 2019
This year’s crop of popular music was... absolutely bonkers? I mean, this year we had Billie Eilish crash into the mainstream, Lizzo managed to get multiple hits out of songs she released nearly three years ago, the Jonas Brothers made a comeback, and the longest-running #1 hit in Billboard history became a rap/country crossover that got its start on Tik Tok made by a complete nobody and the dad from Hannah Montana. I’m going to admit, this list was pretty hard to put together, as I found it hard to find 10 songs that I genuinely loved that were hits this year. Despite that, the sheer absurdity of this year’s popular music gave me a spark of hope going into the new decade. For this list, I’ll be selecting my favorite songs off of Billboard’s year end Hot 100 songs list. I’m ready to recount this year in music, so...
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10) Sucker by Jonas Brothers I never watched the Jonas Brothers show or listened to their music back when they were big on Disney, so I’ve got no nostalgic investment in them. However, this was a fun comeback to watch play out. This song was pretty dang good for a while, with the funky guitars and the instantly catchy lyrics. It reminded me of “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man. Then it got the point where three separate radio stations were playing it at the same time, and now I can barely stand it. I think that after the radio releases this song from its clutches it will warm up on me again though, because I do like it overall.
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9) Better by Khalid The strongest attribute of this song is its ATMOSPHERE. The beat, melody, and vocal delivery all compliment one another perfectly, combining to create a smooth, almost sexy sound that washes over you with ever listen. I also like the Daft-Punk-y vocoded lines that pop in at the end, they’re so unexpected and yet they fit in perfectly. I've always loved Khalid’s vocal timbre, it’s so chill and yet warm at the same time. The only thing I can’t praise about this is the lyrics, because I have no clue what they are. Khalid, bless his sweet soul, cannot enunciate. It’s the same problem I have with Ariana Grande. I love your voice, I want to know what you’re saying! 
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8) Trampoline by SHAED Give me the hipster points, because guess who knew about this song before it was cool! I’ve loved SHAED’s music for some time now, so it’s been thrilling to watch this song climb the charts and for them to get the recognition and success that they deserve. While this song isn’t my favorite by them, (that slot would probably be reserved for “Perfume” or “Melt,”) it does showcase the group’s strengths, which are emotive vocals and glossy electronic production. I love the effervescent backing vocals and bubbling keys that pepper this song, it gives the song a floaty feel while still keeping it tense. 
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7) Old Town Road by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus I can’t think of a piece of music in recent memory that has captured the public’s attention so swiftly and so completely, and you know what? Sometimes something gets big because it’s good. This song, despite all the memes and jokes and radio play and oversaturation, never ever got old to me. Every time it comes on, it puts a giant, goofy smile on my face, and I sing along to the whole thing. I want Lil Nas X to stick around, but even if he doesn’t, I want what this song represents, genre blending, trend-bucking, and a sense of fuck-it fun, to stay.
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6) bury a friend by Billie Eilish Out of all the strange hits we had this year, this was the weirdest one to hear on the radio. It doesn’t have a classic structure! It’s about the monster under your bed! It’s got nothing but a shuffle beat, bass, and the sound of dental drill! It just doesn’t belong on the airwaves next to songs like “ME!” or “I Don’t Care.” Despite that, I’m beyond happy that Billie Eilish is bringing a bit of emo weirdness to the mainstream, because if the success of her music, specifically this song, says anything, it’s that pop is heading in a far scarier and more experimental direction. And I’m on board with that. 
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5) break up with your girfriend, i’m bored by Ariana Grande The groove on this song is fantastic. The combination of eerie synths, bass, reverbed backing vocals, and rolling snares makes it feel tight and controlled, but also loose and flowing at the same time. There was a lot of pushback against this song due the sentiment of the lyrics, but it’s not like Ariana is unaware that she’s the bad guy in this position. There’s enough indifference and sarcasm in her delivery to show that she’s self aware. This was probably my favorite out of the hit singles from the thank u, next era, (”thank u, next” is great but got a bit old to me, and I don’t care for “7 Rings.”) 
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4) Circles by Post Malone  This is embarrassing to admit, because I rarely, if ever, enjoyed any music Post Malone has put out in the past. But this song just hits different. The instrumental feels more acoustic-driven and has a nice pulse to it, projecting a warmth and comfort that none of his other songs have. This was a perfect hit for Autumn, being chill and relaxing enough for Summer, but the underlying bass groove makes you want to move into the productive patterns of the school year. If Post Malone made more music like this I’d reckon I’d enjoy his music quite a bit. 
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3) Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith ft. Normani Sometimes radio filler turns out to be spectacular. The ambiance this track builds is relaxing but in an otherworldly kind of way, forming a soundscape of echoing drums and whispering synths. I’ve always stood by the opinion that Sam Smith sounds really good with an electronic beat under them, it helps their great voice move in a more free-flowing way. Normani also sounds amazing on this song, her vocals dipping into smokier territory, and when the two sing together they play off one another’s performances with ease. 
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2) Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max Who predicted this in their last year’s hit song’s list? This bitch! I was so happy to see this hit the U.S. charts, you have no idea. It was such a breath of fresh air in that it was so splashy, sugar-sweet, and unabashedly pop. The lyrics are some of the silliest of the whole year, (”she’s poison but tasty” makes me chuckle every time,) but it doesn’t matter. The addictive melodies and the earnestness in Ava Max’s performance make them sound like Shakespearean poetry, or at least like she believes that they’re Shakespearean poetry. 
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Should Have Been Hits
Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift This should’ve been a single. I get why Taylor chose the singles she did, but this was primed to be a Summer smash, with the glossy synths and vocoded backing vocals and soaring chorus. We were robbed. Robbed, I tell you!
Graveyard by Halsey While “Without Me” got all the glory, this is my favorite of all the Halsey singles we’ve gotten so far by a wide margin. It’s the only one that I’ve made the conscious choice to listen to on my own time for one. I love the way the production rushes as the chorus hits, and the synths that sparkle throughout the verses, and Halsey’s reserved performance.
3 Nights by Dominic Fike This was a hit in the U.K., and I even heard it on a few alternative stations, so why no cross over? If there was any song that should have been the chill Summer hip hop hit, it should have been this. This song is weirdly addictive, the chorus is so inexplicably catchy that once you hear it one time through you will know all the words to it. 
Blame It On Your Love by Charli XCX ft. Lizzo When the mainstream decide that it didn’t need Charli XCX? Because it’s wrong, it needs her very, very badly. The success of “1999″ in the U.K., the name recognition, and the Lizzo feature should’ve been more than enough to boost this onto the charts, but I guess we didn’t want an instantly catchy and fun EDM pop song on the radio. Oh well. 
Motivation by Normani Normani and Lauren are my favorite Fifth Harmony members, so I’ve been rooting for their solo careers like nobody’s business. This single in particular had so much potential: a bouncy beat, a stamp of approval from Ariana Grande, and a kick-ass music video filled with impressive choreography. I hope this gets a bigger push into next year, because Normani is a wildly talented performer that deserves success outside of her collaborations. 
Guilty Pleasures
bad guy by Billie Eilish This was a good song, just not my favorite off the album, or of the hits, (I prefer ”bury a friend,” obviously, and “when the party’s over,” which made last year’s list.) Still, watching this idiosyncratic little tune become one of the biggest pop smashes of the year was enthralling. Like “bury a friend,” it was so strange to hear this on the radio. 
Close To Me by Ellie Goulding ft. Diplo & Swae Lee When a melody gets its claws in me, there’s nothing I can do about it. This is not Ellie Goulding at her best, (I’ll admit that I miss the days of “Lights,”) but the way she delivers the hook on this song is absolutely infectious. I’m not the biggest Swae Lee fan, but he’s fine here too. I never minded when this song came on the radio. 
This year was a bit of a roller coaster for me. Needless to say, there were several instances where I felt quite a bit of stress and insecurity, and oftentimes, I would turn to music to make myself feel better. There was one song in particular that a friend of mine, @hasanminajs​, introduced me to, that instantly became a beacon of self-appreciation and enjoyment to me throughout the year. And when I tell you that I have never been happier to hear a song on the radio than I have with this one, I'm telling the truth. 
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1) Truth Hurts by Lizzo I have never rooted for a song’s success like I have for this one, and watching a hip hop track this bouncy, confident, and enigmatic climb the charts was an absolute joy. There are so many great punchlines in this song, from “why men great till they gotta be great?” to “I don’t play tag bitch, I’ve been it,” to the ever-iconic “I just took a DNA test, turns out, I’m 100% that bitch.” This song raised the standards for lyricism in the mainstream. I want Lizzo to be huge, I want her to be influential, I want her to be one of the biggest pop stars of the next decade if not longer. Everything about this song, from its production to its message to its performance makes me smile. And you know what? Sometimes that’s all that pop music needs to do. 
Do you agree with this list? What were your favorite hit songs of 2019? Leave a comment and let me know!
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loseyoutoloveme · 4 years
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can you do a rundown/review of every song on folklore like you've done for selena? and what your current top 5 are??
considering this is officially one of my top 3 favourite albums ever i’m v happy to 😌! warning, absolutely every single song will be ranked 10/10
thank for wanting to know my thoughts :( i can’t believe anybody would volunteer to read this JDNSKSDJKDS
first of all, my top 5 is probbbbably gonna change (maybe not tho bc my lover top 5 hasn’t really changed a lot), but for now, i think it’s: august > seven > mad woman > illicit affairs > mirrorball
THE 1:
ngl my very first thought was that it reminded me of same love by macklemore skdjdskjdskjsd but not in a bad way!
literally some of the prettiest lyrics, i knew just from this song that this would top red as her best lyrically (best album in general)
honestly just rly sad and sweet and one of those songs that has such a universal sound i feel?
also the simplest song of the album lyrically (also not in a bad way, just like objectively this is the easiest subject matter on the album with the least opaque lyrics), so a really good opener
best lyrics: “we never painted by the numbers baby but we were making it count/you know the greatest loves of all time are over now” and “we were something don’t you think so/roaring twenties tossing pennies in the pool/and it my wishes came true it would’ve been you”
a cute girl, 10/10
CARDIGAN:
i was surprised by the darkish sound of this one
idk what that like clanking sound in the background is but i find it a lil distracting in the first half of the song - but if i ever find out what it is and it has some symbolic meaning/purpose for being there (i assume it does) i’ll accept it sdjknsd
i love the nostalgia that is so present in like almost every song on this album :(
also the music video is stunning and frames the entire album in the most interesting way, metaphor-wise
best lyrics: “i knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss/knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs/the smell of smoke would hang around this long/cause i knew everything when i was young/i knew i’d curse you for the longest time/chasin’ shadows in the grocery line/i knew you’d miss me when the thrill expired/and you’d be standing in my front porch light/and i knew you’d come back to me”
10/10
THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN DYNASTY:
love this one bc it’s like a nice lil exhale in an album filled with angst, like it’s cute and boppy without being aggressive
i’m suddenly absolutely obsessed with rebekah harkness, particularly the “bitch pack” thing and her dyeing someone’s dog green
i love taylor’s storytelling and i love how that’s always been a big part of her approach to songwriting. this is taylor at her best narration, like starlight but so much better. this is a type of songwriting that is so underused these days, esp by mainstream artists and i love so much that she has always used it and been so invested in it
the pronoun change made me screech. sooo goooood
taylor’s obv a deeply autobiographical artist which is why it’s so incredible to hear her tell OTHER people’s stories and somehow make them so her own. like i think it’s mostly the english major in me that just gets so emotional over that...... the way that other people’s stories became our own through the way we tell them......
this song is def the one that is most explicit about the album’s theme of telling stories but ones that tell something about her (and about her listeners too), by switching to personal pronouns at the end. it sets up a pattern for the rest of the album, where each song is about one thing (the actual story she’s telling) but also about a bunch of other things.
a good example of why she’s the greatest songwriter of this generation
best lyrics: “there goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen/she had a marvelous time ruining everything”
10/10
EXILE:
bon iver’s voice was a full shock to the system the first time i listened and idk why sdkjnds it is just so deep and i was not at all expecting it esp after the cuteness of tlgad
anyway these lyrics are GORGEOUS
i love a duet where the 2 singers’ lyrics are meant to be directed at each other. is there a word for that type of duet idk but it always makes a duet infinitely better
the miscommunication exemplified in the bridge...... chef’s kiss heartbreaking
out of all the songs this is the one that makes me feel the most like i am in the middle of a forest in winter. i can already picture myself listening to this song in december with the sound of a crackling fire in the background mmmmmmmm my exact vibe
best lyrics: “you’re not my homeland anymore/so who am i defending now?/you were my town, now i’m in exile seeing you out” and “i’m not your problem anymore/so who am i offending now?”
10/10
MY TEARS RICOCHET:
this chorus BRRROOOOKE ME
writing songs presumably about the masters situation and framing them as breakup songs was absolutely galaxy brain
i feel like the image of tears ricocheting has like a million layers to it and is just suuuuch a smart metaphor
also just such a visually rich song ? so is every song on the album but the metaphors of this song are all just so visual
best lyrics: “i didn’t have it in myself to go with grace/and you’re the hero flying around saving face/and if i’m dead to you why are you at the wake?” and “i can go anywhere i want/anywhere i want, just not home”
10/10
MIRRORBALL:
ok so i did like this one on first listen, i loved absolutely everything on first listen, but it didn’t hit my top 5 until like 8 listens later, so it’s def a big grower and i think could be a huge fan fav by next year
the self-awareness in her writing will never fail to amaze me
the way that life is just performing...... yeah
but it’s crazy to me that a person could be like “i’m a compulsive people pleaser and performer and i’ll do anything to get ppl to like me” and that leads to “i am a disco ball” like ???? her brain is so big. it’s such a gorgeous metaphor.... and the circus imagery AHHHHH
best lyrics: “i’m still on that tightrope/i’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me/i’m still a believer but i don’t know why/i’ve never been a natural, all i do is try try try/i’m still on that trapeze/i’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me” and “i can change everything about me to fit in”
10000/10
SEVEN:
this one simply rips my heart out
at first i was like oh this is so weird and then the chorus just would not leave my head
for me personally, nostalgia is literally 90% of my personality and just for so many personal reasons the thought of childhood ending and all of the growing pains that come along with that have been at the forefront of my psyche for the past year. so it just kills me whenever i find a song like this one and it kills me that taylor specifically has several songs about this topic and this is 100000% the best of them all. like it’s the most beautiful experience to have your thoughts and feelings and fears expressed so perfectly by a total stranger, and that’s rly what art is about and i love taylor for doing that for me and millions of other people
i just feel like this song brings up so many vivid beautiful memories of childhood for so many people, like being outside in the summer and screaming and being free. ugh
the pause after “i hit my peak at seven” before completing the phrase........ OOOOOOOOOF IT HITS TOO HARD
and sound-wise, just so off-beat and cool and unique
best lyrics: “i hit my peek at seven/feet in the swing across the creek” and “are there still beautiful things?” and “love you to the moon and to saturn/passed down like folk songs/the love lasts so long” and “before i learned civility/i used to scream ferociously/any time i wanted”
100000000000/10
AUGUST:
i knew immediately that this would be my favourite tbh like i could sense it the second it began
i wrote my first impression thoughts in my journal and you can tell the exact moment i got to the bridge bc i just started screaming sdnjksdkjsdn
i would 100% get a tattoo that said “to live for the hope of it all”
everything about this song is LITERALLY flawless like i have.......no notes......no thoughts.......it’s just an absolutely perfect song
best lyrics: “back when we were still changing for the better/wanting for was enough/for me it was enough/to live for the hope of it all" and “august sipped away like a bottle of wine/cause you were never mine”
100000000000000000000000000/10
THIS IS ME TRYING:
this song is rly good but i keep forgetting it exists omg :/ once i learn all of the lyrics i’ll appreciate her more
the strings are gorgeous
i was rly surprised that this one was done with jack instead of aaron just bc the bridge of this sounds SOOOO the national
these lyrics could be interpreted in so many different ways depending on the listener’s experiences and that’s beautiful
best lyrics: “i was so ahead of the curve/the curve became a sphere/fell behind all my classmates and i ended up here” and “it’s hard to be at a party when i feel like an open wound/it’s hard to be anywhere these days when all i want is you/you’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town”
10/10
ILLICIT AFFAIRS:
that soft high note on “down,” “stop,” etc is sooooo nice
i don’t have many thoughts on it, it’s just so soft, SOOOOOO gorgeous instrumentally and lyrically
best lyrics: “it’s born from just one single glance/but it dies and it dies and it dies/a million little times” and “don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby/look at this godforsaken mess that you made me/you showed me colours you know i can’t see with anyone else” and “you taught me a secret language i can’t speak with anyone else/and you know damn well/for you i would ruin myself/a million little times”
100000/10
INVISIBLE STRING:
like i said about tlgad, this is a nice little break from all the angst and pain and anger sdnjksdnskjsd just a sweet little break to remind u there are good things in the world too. so placed really well in the tracklist imo
super super super super cute chorus
so many pretty melodies
absolutely an autumn song btw
best lyrics: “time, mystical time/cutting me open, then healing me fine”
10/10
MAD WOMAN:
i literally lost my mind listening to this for the first time
i have such a thing for scorned women anthems like i will immediately love it whatever it is
the pure rage when she says “cause you took everything from me” gives me full body chills
it is just so eerie and haunting and perfect
best lyrics: “women like hunting witches too/doing your dirtiest work for you/it’s obvious that wanting me dead/has really brought you two together” and “every time you call me crazy i get more crazy/what about that?” and “good wives always know/she should be mad, should be scathing like me/but no one like a man woman”
1000000/10
EPIPHANY:
i find this one so hard to listen to but it’s absolutely beautiful and devastating and so heavily relevant for i think the whole world rn
the heart monitor and the trumpets tying both of the topics in together is so genius and so heartbreaking
i think will be the sygb of folklore where it makes everybody cry so much that it becomes a skip despite being a beautiful song
best lyrics: “something med school did not cover/someone’s daughter, someone’s mother” and “some things you just can’t speak about”
10/10
BETTY:
first of all THE HARMONICA
this made me so happy bc it’s just so debut and so fearless and it made me SOOOOO nostalgic on my first listen, because it really felt to me like i was getting to listen to a song from debut or fearless for the very first time again
it’s just so sweet and cute and simple and yet another very self-aware moment of looking back to her past material/subject matter
best lyrics: “would you have me? would you want me?/would you tell me to go fuck myself/or lead me to the garden?” and “i’m only seventeen, i don’t know anything/but i know i miss you”
10/10
PEACE:
the bass at the beginning is soooooo nice
this miiiiiight be the strongest song on the album lyrics-wise but idk yet
not much to say, it’s just so gorgeous
best lyrics: “i’m a fire and i’ll keep your brittle heart warm/if your cascade ocean wave blues come/all these people think love’s for show/but i would die for you in secret” and “would it be enough if i could never give you peace?” and “i talk shit with my friends, it’s like i’m wasting your honour”
10/10
HOAX:
i have a feeling this one will be underrated/underappreciated bc it’s just simple and dark and the last song, but this is....... a lyrical masterpiece
i feel like i need to be playing this on vinyl with all of the lights off and just a candle burning yknow, like there’s just something so dark and ancient about it
best lyrics: “my winless fight/this has frozen my ground” and “your faithless love’s the only hoax i believe in/don’t want no other shade of blue but you/no other sadness in the world would do” and “you knew it still hurt underneath my scars/from when they pulled me apart/but what you did was just as dark/darling this was just as hard”
10/10
OVERALL: 10000000000/10 literally one of the best albums i have ever heard and (while i wouldn’t put it past her to top it) absolutely the best work of her career. so complex and layered and emotional and painful and genuine and different. not to get ahead of myself but this is/should be considered her blue, her rumours, her abbey road....... god. can’t wait to listen to this album for the rest of my life and play it for my future children and just watch it live on as the greatest work of one of the most important artists of the 21st century
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mlpdestinyverse · 5 years
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“Transitions”
Feat.  Astral Dusk, Terra Rosa
*And with this art dump, I’ll like to officially state that if having a trans character - or any LGBTQA character in this story for that matter - is a problem for anyone, all I can say is that this story and space is not for you. As an artist and story that supports all LGBTQA identities, I’m not here for transphobic or homophobic comments and discussions. I’m also not here to read about whether anyone “disagrees” with Terra Rosa’s identity. End of story. Anyone who decides to disregard this message will risk being blocked entirely. This is my warning.*
And with that out of the way; give a big warm official welcome to your friendly neighborhood transgirl, Terra Rosa~ Also say hi to my first fully colored art dump, holy-
   1. A young Terra Rosa leaned more towards playing with girls her age. But on numerous occasions, she would find herself feeling out of sorts when referred to as the "boy" in her friend groups. Over time, Terra became increasingly more self-aware and uncomfortable with the apparent physical differences between herself and her own mom. And while this lead to curious questions about these differences, Twilight Sparkle and Timber Spruce only thought of them as normal inquiries of a child.
It wasn't until the day Terra excitedly dressed up - hoping to better resemble her beautiful mother - that she saw the image of herself in a mirror and so much seemed to click in place all at once, for herself and her family. Of course, enjoying feminine clothing didn't necessarily confirm what Twilight, Timber, and Aunt Gloriosa were beginning to suspect. With much love, support, and gentle coaxing over time, it became more and more clear to the Spruce family that they, in fact, had a sprightly lil' daughter on their hands.
   2. All of Terra's close friends know of her identity. It's just another part of Terra that is widely accepted and loved unconditionally~
Much like their equestrian counterpart, Terra's friend Monochrome Dashielle had confusing, iffy feelings about their own gender identity. Where equestrian Mo opened up to their parents at a young age and discovered their nonbinary identity that way, learning of Terra's circumstance both helped confirm that other identities even existed but also had Mirrorverse!Monochrome conflicted as to whether they had to choose one gender or the other. It took them a few self-conscious years full of hesitance and turbulent emotions before Ellie and Terra had a little heart-to-heart talk, from one transgendered kid to another. With lots of encouragement from Terra (and jokes to cheer up her friend and ease their stress), Ellie too came to sort out and accept how they really felt.
While Terra, Monochrome, and Summer Rush are a very close trio of friends, there’s a special unspoken extra layer of companionship and comfort between Terra and Mo as fellow transkids.
(PS: I had no real reason to include Astral finding out about Terra's identity since that conversation basically consisted of him asking questions to better understand and then essentially going "Okay cool".)
   3. The origin story of Terra's pink/blue/white obsession. As stated in her bio, Terra will literally hoard anything that remotely has the color combination and will spontaneously and aggressively throw down money if it means adding to her collection. She also has an affinity for merchandise of the popular video game "Panda Party".
   4. Honestly, listening to "You Need To Calm Down" and "Me!" by Taylor Swift on repeat had me thinking of Terra and this image would not leave my mind.
At the end of the day, patience and love went a long way for our girl. She’s been on hormone therapy for years and while body dysphoria likes to rear its cruel head, she desperately tries to be all about that positivity and self-love.
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novelwritingtrash · 4 years
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When Harry Styles played the O2 Arena in 2018, his fans illuminated the cavernous venue in the colours of the LGBTQ Pride flag. Coordinated by a social media account called The Rainbow Project, each seating block was allocated a different colour, so that when Styles played the song Sweet Creature, an enormous rainbow emerged from the crowd. I was there, and it was pretty magical. But it was also emblematic of how Styles’s fanbase views their idol: as a queer icon. 
There’s arguably never been a better time to be an LGBTQ pop star. Acts such as Sam Smith, who came out as non-binary earlier this year, Lil Nas X, the first gay man to have a certified diamond song in America, Halsey, queer boyband Brockhampton, pansexual singer Miley Cyrus and Kim Petras, who is transgender, have all enjoyed an incredible year, bagging the biggest hits of 2019.
Still, when Styles shared Lights Up, the lead single from his forthcoming second solo album Fine Line, there was a collective intake of breath. The song and video - in which he appears shirtless in what looks like a sweaty orgy as both men and women grab at him - was heralded as a “bisexual anthem” by the media and fans on Twitter, despite not really making any explicit or obvious statements about sexuality or the LGBTQ community. Instead, Lights Up was just another example of the queer mythologising that occurs around Harry Styles.
As a member of One Direction, Styles was – aside from Zayn Malik – the group’s most charismatic and enticing member. From his first audition on The X Factor to the band’s disbandment in 2015, the teenager from Cheshire managed to elevate himself and his celebrity swiftly rose to the A list. Helping him along was speculation about his private life: during his tenure in the band he was romantically linked to everyone from Taylor Swift to Kendall Jenner.
But there were two other rumoured relationships that dogged Styles more than the others. The first was his close friendship with radio DJ Nick Grimshaw. Styles and Grimshaw were often photographed together, and there were anodyne showbiz reports about how they even shared a wardrobe. 
Inevitably, rumours suggested they were romantically linked. In fact, so prolific was speculation that during an interview with British GQ, Styles was asked point blank if he was in a relationship with Grimshaw (he denied any romantic relationship) and, in a move that upset many One Direction fans, if he was bisexual. “Bisexual? Me?” he responded.  “I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm not.”
The second, and perhaps most complicated of rumours, was that he and fellow bandmate Louis Tomlinson were in a relationship. Larry Stylinson, as their shipname is known, began life as fan-fiction but mutated into a wild conspiracy theory as certain fans – dubbed Larries – documented glances, gestures, touches, interviews, performances and outfits in an attempt to confirm the romance. Even now, four years after the band went on “hiatus”, videos are still being posted on YouTube in an attempt to confirm that their relationship was real.
For Tomlinson, Larry was fandom gone too far. He has repeatedly rejected the conspiracy. Styles, meanwhile, has never publicly discussed it. In fact, unlike Tomlinson, whose post-1D career trajectory has seen him adopt a loutish form of masculinity indebted to the Gallagher brothers, Styles has largely leant into the speculation surrounding his sexuality. Aside from the GQ interview, Styles has told interviewers that gender is not that important to him when it comes to dating. In 2017 he said that he had never felt the need to label his sexuality, adding: “I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.”
Likewise, during his time touring with One Direction, and during his own solo tours, the image of Styles draped with a rainbow flag became ubiquitous. He has also donated money from merchandise sales to LGBTQ charities. His fashion sense, too, subverts gender norms: Styles has long sported womenswear, floral prints, dangly earrings and painted nails. 
Nevertheless, Styles’s hesitance to be candid has met with criticism. He has been accused of queer-baiting - or enjoying the benefits of appealing to an LGBTQ fanbase without having any of the difficulties. I’ve written before about how queer artists, who now enjoy greater visibility and are finding mainstream success, have struggled commercially owing to their sexuality or gender identity. 
Styles, who is assumed to be a cisgender, heterosexual male, doesn’t carry any of the commercial risk laden upon Troye Sivan, Years and Years or MNEK, who all use same-gender pronouns in their music and are explicitly gay in their videos. His music – with its nods to rock’n’roll, Americana and folk ­– doesn’t feel very queer, either. Looking at it this way, the queer idolisation of Harry Styles doesn’t feel deserved.
“The thing with Harry Styles is that he often does the bare minimum and gets an out-sized load of credit for it,” says songwriter and record label manager Grace Medford. For Medford, who has worked at Syco and is now part of the team at Xenomania records, Styles’s queer narrative has been projected on him by the media and his fans. “I don't think that he queer-baits, but I don't think he does anywhere near enough to get the response that he does.”
Of course, Styles does not need to explain or be specific about his sexuality. As Medford puts it: “he's well within his rights to live his life how he chooses.” However, he has also created a space for himself in pop that allows him that ambiguity.
It’s a privilege few pop stars have. Last year, Rita Ora was hit with criticism after her song Girls, a collaboration with Charli XCX, Cardi B and Bebe Rexha, was dubbed problematic and accused of performative bisexuality. Even though Ora explicitly sang the lyric “I'm 50-50 and I'm never gonna hide it”, she was lambasted by social media critics, media commentary and even her fellow artists until she was forced to publicly confirm her bisexuality.
But the same was not done to Styles when he performed unreleased song “Medicine” during his world tour. The lyrics have never been confirmed, but the song is said to contain the line: “The boys and the girls are in/ I mess around with him/ And I'm okay with it.” Instead of probing him for clarity or accusing him of performativity, the song was labelled a “bisexual anthem” and praised as “a breakthrough for bisexual music fans”.
Of course, there’s misogyny inherent to such reactions. But there’s also something more layered and complex at play, too. “There's such a dearth of queer people to look up to, especially people at Harry’s level,” posits Medford. “With somebody who is seen as cool and credible and attractive as Harry, part of it is wishful thinking, I think. 
“The fact is, he was put together into a boyband on a television show by a Pussycat Doll. And he has rebranded as Mick Jagger’s spiritual successor and sings with Stevie Nicks; he's really done the work there. Part of him doing that work is him stepping back and letting other people create a story for him.”
One only has to look at how Styles’ celebrity manifests itself (cool, fashionable, artistic) in comparison to that of his former bandmates. Liam Payne (this week dubbed by the tabloids as a chart failure) has been a tabloid fixture since his public relationship with Cheryl Cole and relies on countless interviews, photoshoots and even an advertising campaign for Hugo Boss to maintain his fame. 
Styles, meanwhile, doesn’t really engage with social media. He also rarely appears in public and carefully chooses what kind of press he does, actively limiting the number of interviews he gives. Styles’s reticence to engage with the media and general public – perhaps a form of self-preservation – has awarded him a rare mystique that few people in the public eye possess. 
This enigmatic personal, along with his sexual ambiguity, his support of LGBTQ charities and his gender-fluid approach to fashion, creates the perfect incubation for queer fandom. It also provides a shield against serious accusations of queer-baiting. As Medford argues: “Harry's queer mythology has been presented to and bestowed upon him by queer people whereas other acts feel like they have to actively seek that out.”
Ultimately, the way that Styles navigates his queer fandom doesn’t feel calculated or contrived. For Eli, an 18-year-old from Orlando who grew up with One Direction, seeing Styles “grow into himself” has been important. He suggests that Styles’ queer accessibility has helped to create a safe space for fans. “Watching him on tour dance on stage every night in his frilly outfits, singing about liking boys and girls, waving around pride flags, and even helping a fan come out to her mom, really helped me come to terms with my own sexuality,” he explains.
Vicky, who is 25 and from London, agrees: “To be able to attend his show with my pansexual flag and wave it around and feel so much love and respect - it's an amazing feeling. I'm aware so many queer people can't experience it so I'm very grateful Harry creates these safe spaces through his music and concerts.”
There’s appeal in Styles’s ambiguity, too. Summer Shaud, from Boston, says that Styles’ “giving no f----” approach to sexuality and gender is “inspiring and affirming” for those people who are coming to terms with their own identities or those who live in the middle of sexuality or gender spectrums. “There’s enormous pressure from certain gatekeeping voices within the queer community to perform queerness in an approved, unambiguous way, often coming from people with no substantive understanding of bisexuality or genderfluidity who are still looking to put everyone into a box,” she argues. “Harry’s gender presentation, queer-coding, and refusal to label himself are a defiant rebuke of that “You’re Not Doing It Right” attitude, and that resonates so strongly with queers who aren’t exclusively homosexual or exclusively binary.”
Shaud says that the queer community that has congregated around Styles is another reason she’s so drawn to him. “Seeing how his last tour was such an incredible site of affirmation and belonging for queers is deeply moving to me, and as older queer [Shaud is 41] I’m so grateful that all the young people growing up together with Harry have someone like him to provide that.” 
In fact, she argues that there’s a symbiotic relationship between Styles and his queer fans. She cites an interview he gave to Rolling Stone this year in which he said how transformative the tour was for him. “For me the tour was the biggest thing in terms of being more accepting of myself, I think,” Styles shared. “I kept thinking, 'Oh wow, they really want me to be myself. And be out and do it.’”
All of the queer Harry Styles fans I spoke to agreed that it really didn’t matter whether their idol was explicit about his sexuality or not. “It’s weird that people scrutinise people who don’t label [their sexuality] when they have no idea what that person feels like inside or, in Harry’s case, what it’s like to be under the public eye,” argues Valerie, who is 18. “It's an individual choice, not ours,” agrees Vicky.
Ollie, 22 and from Brighton, takes a more rounded view, however: “On one hand, I think that quite simply it isn’t any of anyone else’s business. On the other, if you place yourself in the public eye to the level of fame that he has then you should be prepared to be probed about every minute detail of your personal life, whether you like it or not – you should at least be prepared to be questioned about it.” Still, he says that the good that Styles does is what’s important: “He brings fantastic support and attention to the community, whether he is actively a part of it or not.”
Arguably, the ambiguity and mystery that surrounds Styles only allows more space for queer people to find safety in him and in the fandom.
Still, if fans are expecting a queer coming of age with new album Fine Line, they will be disappointed. Lyrically, he doesn’t venture into new territory, although there are some new musical flares. He also seems like he’s started to distance himself a little from the ambiguity, too. “I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows,” he told Rolling Stone. “I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t. So I’m not trying to say, ‘I understand what it’s like.’ I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.” Having said that, within weeks Styles appeared on Saturday Night Live playing a gay social media manager, using queer slang and even wearing an S&M harness.
And so the cycle of queer mythologising continues, and is likely to continue for the rest of Styles’s career. And maybe things will change and maybe they won’t.
“If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender — whoever you are, whoever you want to be, I support you,” he said earlier this year. “I love every single one of you.” In a world where LGBTQ rights are threatened and there’s socio-political insecurity, perhaps, for now at least, that’s enough.
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silverlightqueen · 5 years
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Daisies
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here's another playlist with all the songs that the songs in Daisies are based on with the spotify playlist, enjoy x
a/n: almost all of the song titles come from part names of daisies parts lol and I also wrote this super late last night but the wifi stopped working as I tried to upload it so sorry for how... sleep deprived I come across in this lmaooo x
tracklist
1. Intro: Spring - KTH = Winter Bear - V
From the very first mixtape skit, Tae suggested having Intro: Spring and Outro: Summer so y’all know I had to call the intro Intro: Spring lol. I based this one off Winter Bear bc even though Winter Bear is about... a winter bear (lmao), I thought it’d be cute to have the message of this song as even though it’s spring, the singer still loves the person they fell in love with during the winter (and winter doesn’t necessarily refer to the season, but maybe a dark time in the singer’s life).
2. Mayday - KTH & JJK = Lay Me Down - Sam Smith & John Legend
So the reason I chose this song is that it’s quite a sad and dark love song and rather than seeing it as an unrequited love song (which is what it is), I see it as more a doomed love song. From the point of view of the singer, they see the relationship as something amazing and beautiful and something they want, but there are doubts/barriers in the way. This could be reflective of how both Tae and JK initially saw their relationships with Chae and Lisa due to the whole idol dating thing, or maybe even their past with sleeping around. 
3. Injustice - Jisoo & Jennie = Extraordinary - Clean Bandit & Sharna Bass
Again, this is another song about loving someone, but there are issues/doubts/barriers in the relationship. This again could be reflective of doubts that Jisoo and Jennie both had about Jin and Joon at the beginning of their attractions to one another/relationships. 
4. Psychic - KNJ & Jennie = Fine Line - Mabel & Not3s
This song is all about how they both have feelings for each other, but he’s more open about his towards her. Jennie is reluctant but feels like there is a very fine line (ba dum tsh) between their relationship being casual and her falling head over heels for him.
5. Missing Out - MYG, JHS & Lisa = Take It Or Leave It - Rae Sremmurd
Now I really really love this song bc it gives me major ‘I really like you and i’m trying my best to act like I don’t really care whether you like me or not but I really do and I’m not a good actor so you already know’ vibes. It’s a real laidback and chill ‘end-of-the-night-when-everyone’s-high’ kinda song and I love it.
6. Outings - MYG, JHS, PJM & JJK = New Flame - Chris Brown, Usher & Rick Ross
I chose this song bc it talks about finding love in an unlikely place; the club. In Outings, the boys sing/rap about finding love in a different unlikely place; on tour. It’s so hectic and busy that you wouldn’t think there’d be any time, but it happened regardless.
7. Possessed - JHS, Jennie & y/n = All My Friends - Snakehips, Tinashe & Chance The Rapper
This song is the ultimate introvert anthem and talks about the idol lifestyle for idols that don’t like the idol lifestyle. y/n wasn’t into all that getting high and drunk and sleeping around kinda thing and this song reflects that mentality, and the mentality of the boys when they used to do that shit.
8. Parents - KSJ, Jisoo & JJK = Boyfriend - Ariana Grande & Social House
This song just talks about how Jin, JK and Jisoo (and Lisa) are in relationships where they really like the other person and they don’t want them with anybody else, but they’re also not quite ready to commit and put a label on it or make it official just yet.
9. Booking Flights - KSJ, JHS, Jisoo, KNJ & Jennie = Finders Keepers - Mabel & Kojo Funds
This song is about how you will not catch Jin, Jisoo, Joon or Jennie booking a flight to see the other person they’re in a relationship with; they’re not ready for that yet and they’d prefer to keep it casual and make the most of the time they do have together before becoming serious.
9.5. Skit: Brainstorm Pt. IIIII - All
This is literally just them lot brainstorming and i’m so sorry but I am too tired to come up with what they say so you can just make it up yourselves
10. Really - Girls (Blackpink Cover)
This song is a little bit of turning point; it’s where the girls have decided that ‘okay, I like you and I’m ready for us to be something more; if you feel the same way, let me know’. This is where the girls are addressing their feelings and wanting the same from the boys.
11. Reunion - PJM & y/n = Learn To Love Again - Lawson
This song is y/n and Jimin talking about how they know that they are meant for each other bc of the fact that they’ve been able to learn to love each other again and forgive each other, despite everything that happened between them; it’s an admittance of how deep their feelings for each other really go.
12. Enjoy - Lisa & JJK = Fetish - Selena Gomez & Gucci Mane 
This song is about how JK and Lisa are feeling each other in a sexual way and no matter how they’ve tried to repress their feelings, they want the other; not just in a sexual relationship but in an actual relationship too (and they’re both aware of the other’s feelings). It also talks about how they don’t blame the other for liking them so a lil bit of self love in there too.
13. Blushing - Chae = Lover - Taylor Swift
There’s not much to say about this one; it’s literally just Chae admitting to Tae that she really likes him, wants to go where he goes and stay this close to him forever. It’s a really cute lil love song and I think it suits Chae and Tae’s relationship perfectly.
14. Clouds - MYG & KTH = Waves - Kanye West & Chris Brown
This song is about all the different relationships that the twelve of them have, discussing the fact that they are like waves; they change and move and (as Genius lyrics says) flux and reflux, but they never truly die and are always still there. Basically it’s about how no matter what happens, their relationships will exist and stay just as strong forever.
15. Close Your Eyes - Boys = Wake Up - The Vamps
This song is the boys admittance of their feelings for the girls and how they’re here and ready for the girls whenever their hearts are ready. That’s it, lol.
16. Babie - KSJ = This Is What You Came For - Calvin Harris & Rihanna
This song is about a really powerful woman who can command the entire room, but the feeling of her having her eyes on you. Basically, it’s just the boys empowering the girls; it’s them saying ‘you guys are really amazing and powerful and we’re honoured to even know you, let alone have your love’.
17.  Forever Young - All (Blackpink Cover)
This song is literally just them talking about feeling young when they’re all together and they’ll be together the rest of their lives, making them young forever.
18. About Time - MYG, JHS & y/n = Congratulations - Post Malone & Quavo
This is just a flex bc they're record breakers and award winners bitch lmao
19. Interlude: Hedge - JJK & y/n
y’all know I had to fucking do it to you !! okay so the backing track is literally just basic asf and it’s just JK and y/n rapping the following lines together (it’s only like a minute long lmao):
sitting on a ledge, thinking ‘bout a hedge. we gon’ make a pledge to grow ourselves a hedge. our tools we will dredge (up) and in the garden we will wedge, some seeds between our flowers and grow a baby hedge. the baby hedge will grow, ‘til it can’t no mo’, ‘til it’s bigger than Tae’s toe and taller than Joon’s old ‘fro. our hedge matters most, it’ll grow from coast to coast, ‘til the world from edge to edge will fall in love with our hedge 
(that’s it. I have reached the peak of crackheadedness. I will never do anything more crackhead-like than what i am doing right this second; writing a rap about a hedge at 1am in the dark with Monsters vs Aliens on the tv)
20. Apocalypse - KTH, Lisa & y/n = This Is Love - Will Smith & Eva Simons
This song is legit just how much love they all have; for each other, for their fans, for their families and friends and for their music. That’s it, ion know what else to say.
21. Lucky Stars - Chae & y/n = Unconditionally - Katy Perry
This is just another big love song about how no matter what, they will all still love each other unconditionally, without holding back anything.
22. Masterpiece - PJM & y/n = Ordinary People - John Legend
This is y/n and Jimin realising that there will be ups and downs in their relationship, but that’s okay bc that’s life and they’ll get through it bc they love each other. It’s also them realising that they need to just go slow this time and let things happen naturally rather than rushing into anything and forcing anything.
23. Tipsy - PJM & y/n = Drunk In Love - Beyonce & Jay-Z
Nothing has changed; they both still like sex a lot. Also, rapper!Jimin which we love (yes, i’m still not over that Tony Montana performance and I want it tattooed on my forehead pls)
24. Whiplash - Boys = Better Man - 5 Seconds Of Summer
This song is dedicated from the boys to y/n bc she made them better men; she threw away their drugs (lmao) and got them to stop sleeping around and helped to realise their worth and love themselves, so this is their thank you to her for changing them into better people.
25. Holiday - Chae, JJK & y/n = Malibu - Miley Cyrus
This song is about how they were reluctant about relationships at first and never saw themselves where they are now, but they love it and feel indebted to their other halves (and also their friendship group) for giving them new experiences, changing their lives for the better and making them happier than ever.
26. Promise Pt. II - PJM = Serendipity - BTS
This is dedicated to y/n (obviously) and is basically just Jimin’s promise to y/n that he loves her.
27. Angel Boy - y/n = Video Games - Lana Del Rey
This is y/n’s love song to Jimin - just listen to it and you’ll understand (listen, it’s late and i’m tired but I just wanna get this uploaded so I can finish daisies in the next couple of days and start the new au so sorry if the descriptions are too brief lol)
28. Back On - All = All Weekend Long - Jack & Jack
RTG might have left the toxic lifestyle behind them but they’ll never say no to a good party lmao
29. Business - KNJ & Jennie = Touch - Little Mix & Kid Ink
Jen and Joon like each other a lot and like to touch too lmao i’m tired forgive me
30. Peachy - KSJ & Jisoo = Toothbrush - DNCE
Jin and Jisoo not wanting just one night stands and asking the other to stay the night and the next day bc they like each other a lot
31. Dream - Lisa & JJK = Cold Water - Major Lazer, Justin Bieber and MØ 
This just in: JK and Lisa really like each other and will save each other from cold cold water bc of it.
32. Worldwide - KTH & Chae = This One’s For You - David Guetta & Zara Larsson
Just a super feelgood, uplifting and empowering love song that’s totally not about football.
33. Daisy - PJM & y/n = Middle - DJ Snake & Bipolar Sunshine
This song is where I got the line ‘staring at two different views’ from and both y/n and Jimin have captioned pictures of each other with that line so I felt obliged to have this as their song, and then I called it daisy and made myself sad lmao.
34. Goodbye - All = The Time - Black Eyed Peas
They had the time of their lives on The Rose Tour and can’t wait to do it all over again on The Daisies Tour.
35. Outro: Summer - All = Waiting For Love - Avicii
They’ve all been hurt in the past but that doesn’t matter anymore bc they’ve found love in each other and that’s all that matters. 
taglist💕: @khaoticamour @rjsmochii @minniestudies @oodlespadoodle @shay-the-turtle @yasbts705 @goldenchemistry @arvbellas @anothershorthuman @golden-pixie-dust-200 @onlinewhale @maknaeroni @sweetchocolategoblin @conslack @missbowkimjinju @pocketfullofsuga @booklover240 @dimple-jungkook @squishyshit @sakurauchiha2018 @keylowmonie @untainted-memories @babybluebisexual @dearbangtan07 @joyful-jimin @glossdust @mayumioutloud @needyvmin @the-real96 @brinnalaine @lovebuginlove @smolchild95 @miraisnotavailable @eilowyneleyne @kiddrauhlfeels @silverlightprincess
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accidentalharrie · 4 years
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maybe you or one of you followers has access to the telegraph article about Harry "Why does the world want Harry Styles to be gay" I don't know what to think about this headline and I really want to read it but its online only for subscribers
Here you go, Nons. (I hesitate to post this but…)
When Harry Styles played the O2 Arena in 2018, his fans illuminated the cavernous venue in the colours of the LGBTQ Pride flag. Coordinated by a social media account called The Rainbow Project, each seating block was allocated a different colour, so that when Styles played the song Sweet Creature, an enormous rainbow emerged from the crowd. I was there, and it was pretty magical. But it was also emblematic of how Styles’s fanbase views their idol: as a queer icon.
There’s arguably never been a better time to be an LGBTQ pop star. Acts such as Sam Smith, who came out as non-binary earlier this year, Lil Nas X, the first gay man to have a certified diamond song in America, Halsey, queer boyband Brockhampton, pansexual singer Miley Cyrus and Kim Petras, who is transgender, have all enjoyed an incredible year, bagging the biggest hits of 2019.
Still, when Styles shared Lights Up, the lead single from his forthcoming second solo album Fine Line, there was a collective intake of breath. The song and video - in which he appears shirtless in what looks like a sweaty orgy as both men and women grab at him - was heralded as a “bisexual anthem” by the media and fans on Twitter, despite not really making any explicit or obvious statements about sexuality or the LGBTQ community. Instead, Lights Up was just another example of the queer mythologising that occurs around Harry Styles.
As a member of One Direction, Styles was – aside from Zayn Malik – the group’s most charismatic and enticing member. From his first audition on The X Factor to the band’s disbandment in 2015, the teenager from Cheshire managed to elevate himself and his celebrity swiftly rose to the A list. Helping him along was speculation about his private life: during his tenure in the band he was romantically linked to everyone from Taylor Swift to Kendall Jenner.
But there were two other rumoured relationships that dogged Styles more than the others. The first was his close friendship with radio DJ Nick Grimshaw. Styles and Grimshaw were often photographed together, and there were anodyne showbiz reports about how they even shared a wardrobe.
Inevitably, rumours suggested they were romantically linked. In fact, so prolific was speculation that during an interview with British GQ, Styles was asked point blank if he was in a relationship with Grimshaw (he denied any romantic relationship) and, in a move that upset many One Direction fans, if he was bisexual. “Bisexual? Me?” he responded.  “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’m not.”
The second, and perhaps most complicated of rumours, was that he and fellow bandmate Louis Tomlinson were in a relationship. Larry Stylinson, as their shipname is known, began life as fan-fiction but mutated into a wild conspiracy theory as certain fans – dubbed Larries – documented glances, gestures, touches, interviews, performances and outfits in an attempt to confirm the romance. Even now, four years after the band went on “hiatus”, videos are still being posted on YouTube in an attempt to confirm that their relationship was real.
For Tomlinson, Larry was fandom gone too far. He has repeatedly rejected the conspiracy. Styles, meanwhile, has never publicly discussed it. In fact, unlike Tomlinson, whose post-1D career trajectory has seen him adopt a loutish form of masculinity indebted to the Gallagher brothers, Styles has largely leant into the speculation surrounding his sexuality. Aside from the GQ interview, Styles has told interviewers that gender is not that important to him when it comes to dating. In 2017 he said that he had never felt the need to label his sexuality, adding: “I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.”
Likewise, during his time touring with One Direction, and during his own solo tours, the image of Styles draped with a rainbow flag became ubiquitous. He has also donated money from merchandise sales to LGBTQ charities. His fashion sense, too, subverts gender norms: Styles has long sported womenswear, floral prints, dangly earrings and painted nails.
Nevertheless, Styles’s hesitance to be candid has met with criticism. He has been accused of queer-baiting - or enjoying the benefits of appealing to an LGBTQ fanbase without having any of the difficulties. I’ve written before about how queer artists, who now enjoy greater visibility and are finding mainstream success, have struggled commercially owing to their sexuality or gender identity.
Styles, who is assumed to be a cisgender, heterosexual male, doesn’t carry any of the commercial risk laden upon Troye Sivan, Years and Years or MNEK, who all use same-gender pronouns in their music and are explicitly gay in their videos. His music – with its nods to rock’n’roll, Americana and folk ­– doesn’t feel very queer, either. Looking at it this way, the queer idolisation of Harry Styles doesn’t feel deserved.
“The thing with Harry Styles is that he often does the bare minimum and gets an out-sized load of credit for it,” says songwriter and record label manager Grace Medford. For Medford, who has worked at Syco and is now part of the team at Xenomania records, Styles’s queer narrative has been projected on him by the media and his fans. “I don’t think that he queer-baits, but I don’t think he does anywhere near enough to get the response that he does.”
Of course, Styles does not need to explain or be specific about his sexuality. As Medford puts it: “he’s well within his rights to live his life how he chooses.” However, he has also created a space for himself in pop that allows him that ambiguity.
It’s a privilege few pop stars have. Last year, Rita Ora was hit with criticism after her song Girls, a collaboration with Charli XCX, Cardi B and Bebe Rexha, was dubbed problematic and accused of performative bisexuality. Even though Ora explicitly sang the lyric “I’m 50-50 and I’m never gonna hide it”, she was lambasted by social media critics, media commentary and even her fellow artists until she was forced to publicly confirm her bisexuality.
But the same was not done to Styles when he performed unreleased song “Medicine” during his world tour. The lyrics have never been confirmed, but the song is said to contain the line: “The boys and the girls are in/ I mess around with him/ And I’m okay with it.” Instead of probing him for clarity or accusing him of performativity, the song was labelled a “bisexual anthem” and praised as “a breakthrough for bisexual music fans”.
Of course, there’s misogyny inherent to such reactions. But there’s also something more layered and complex at play, too. ���There’s such a dearth of queer people to look up to, especially people at Harry’s level,” posits Medford. “With somebody who is seen as cool and credible and attractive as Harry, part of it is wishful thinking, I think.
“The fact is, he was put together into a boyband on a television show by a Pussycat Doll. And he has rebranded as Mick Jagger’s spiritual successor and sings with Stevie Nicks; he’s really done the work there. Part of him doing that work is him stepping back and letting other people create a story for him.”
One only has to look at how Styles’ celebrity manifests itself (cool, fashionable, artistic) in comparison to that of his former bandmates. Liam Payne (this week dubbed by the tabloids as a chart failure) has been a tabloid fixture since his public relationship with Cheryl Cole and relies on countless interviews, photoshoots and even an advertising campaign for Hugo Boss to maintain his fame.
Styles, meanwhile, doesn’t really engage with social media. He also rarely appears in public and carefully chooses what kind of press he does, actively limiting the number of interviews he gives. Styles’s reticence to engage with the media and general public – perhaps a form of self-preservation – has awarded him a rare mystique that few people in the public eye possess.
This enigmatic personal, along with his sexual ambiguity, his support of LGBTQ charities and his gender-fluid approach to fashion, creates the perfect incubation for queer fandom. It also provides a shield against serious accusations of queer-baiting. As Medford argues: “Harry’s queer mythology has been presented to and bestowed upon him by queer people whereas other acts feel like they have to actively seek that out.”
Ultimately, the way that Styles navigates his queer fandom doesn’t feel calculated or contrived. For Eli, an 18-year-old from Orlando who grew up with One Direction, seeing Styles “grow into himself” has been important. He suggests that Styles’ queer accessibility has helped to create a safe space for fans. “Watching him on tour dance on stage every night in his frilly outfits, singing about liking boys and girls, waving around pride flags, and even helping a fan come out to her mom, really helped me come to terms with my own sexuality,” he explains.
Vicky, who is 25 and from London, agrees: “To be able to attend his show with my pansexual flag and wave it around and feel so much love and respect - it’s an amazing feeling. I’m aware so many queer people can’t experience it so I’m very grateful Harry creates these safe spaces through his music and concerts.”
There’s appeal in Styles’s ambiguity, too. Summer Shaud, from Boston, says that Styles’ “giving no f—-” approach to sexuality and gender is “inspiring and affirming” for those people who are coming to terms with their own identities or those who live in the middle of sexuality or gender spectrums. “There’s enormous pressure from certain gatekeeping voices within the queer community to perform queerness in an approved, unambiguous way, often coming from people with no substantive understanding of bisexuality or genderfluidity who are still looking to put everyone into a box,” she argues. “Harry’s gender presentation, queer-coding, and refusal to label himself are a defiant rebuke of that “You’re Not Doing It Right” attitude, and that resonates so strongly with queers who aren’t exclusively homosexual or exclusively binary.”
Shaud says that the queer community that has congregated around Styles is another reason she’s so drawn to him. “Seeing how his last tour was such an incredible site of affirmation and belonging for queers is deeply moving to me, and as older queer [Shaud is 41] I’m so grateful that all the young people growing up together with Harry have someone like him to provide that.”
In fact, she argues that there’s a symbiotic relationship between Styles and his queer fans. She cites an interview he gave to Rolling Stone this year in which he said how transformative the tour was for him. “For me the tour was the biggest thing in terms of being more accepting of myself, I think,” Styles shared. “I kept thinking, ‘Oh wow, they really want me to be myself. And be out and do it.’”
All of the queer Harry Styles fans I spoke to agreed that it really didn’t matter whether their idol was explicit about his sexuality or not. “It’s weird that people scrutinise people who don’t label [their sexuality] when they have no idea what that person feels like inside or, in Harry’s case, what it’s like to be under the public eye,” argues Valerie, who is 18. “It’s an individual choice, not ours,” agrees Vicky.
Ollie, 22 and from Brighton, takes a more rounded view, however: “On one hand, I think that quite simply it isn’t any of anyone else’s business. On the other, if you place yourself in the public eye to the level of fame that he has then you should be prepared to be probed about every minute detail of your personal life, whether you like it or not – you should at least be prepared to be questioned about it.” Still, he says that the good that Styles does is what’s important: “He brings fantastic support and attention to the community, whether he is actively a part of it or not.”
Arguably, the ambiguity and mystery that surrounds Styles only allows more space for queer people to find safety in him and in the fandom.
Still, if fans are expecting a queer coming of age with new album Fine Line, they will be disappointed. Lyrically, he doesn’t venture into new territory, although there are some new musical flares. He also seems like he’s started to distance himself a little from the ambiguity, too. “I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows,” he told Rolling Stone. “I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t. So I’m not trying to say, ‘I understand what it’s like.’ I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.” Having said that, within weeks Styles appeared on Saturday Night Live playing a gay social media manager, using queer slang and even wearing an S&M harness.
And so the cycle of queer mythologising continues, and is likely to continue for the rest of Styles’s career. And maybe things will change and maybe they won’t.
“If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender — whoever you are, whoever you want to be, I support you,” he said earlier this year. “I love every single one of you.” In a world where LGBTQ rights are threatened and there’s socio-political insecurity, perhaps, for now at least, that’s enough.
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gg-astrology · 5 years
Note
hi baby! can you do scorpio sun/gemini moon? thank u so much 🌠💕
Hey there!!💕💕💕 Aaaaah I’ll do my best ;; thank YOU for asking!! 💕💕
[Below Cut: Scorpio Sun - Gemini Moon 🔖]
They are the biggest dorks and I love them 
Geeks -- whether they want to admit it or not
Both Scorpio and Gemini can make a person stiff outwardly, sometimes they are awkward but because both Scorpio/Gemini are good at --- well, working at a worldly pace, most people don’t tend to bat an eye at them about it
Scorpio-- can tend to make a person feel like all of them aren’t seen (even tho it’s right there-- like being invisible to the world) while Gemini has this awareness/ability to  understand the locality and ‘how people get by’ around it
So put these two together--- you get someone who’s kinda cagey. 
Scorpio sun make them perceptive to others, but their inner depth is often hidden within themselves (invisible to others until u put it to light) -- and because Gemini Moon makes them practical/work in a way that’s always pro-active/corresponding to the world--- it’s like you have two sides to you that 1) other people see and 2) what you know you can be
you remind me of 1) ‘you belong with me’ mv by taylor swift (as the nerdy persona) and 2) one of those disney musicals where someone sings about ‘showing their true self’ to the world one day
I guess the biggest feeling is yearning?? To align the self together and be “seen” for who/what they are?? It’s like they think their self-acceptance comes when they are able to do this, or accomplish this somehow
Meanwhile, in everyday life you may find humour or satirical thinking becoming a Thing you’re into
Mostly because it combines Scorpio’s deep-thinking, intuitive level perceptiveness with Gemini straight-forward, questioning and uplifting nature
You have this Gemini that’s light, want things to be joking/fun less serious-- but you also have this Scorpio Sun who demands things to be taken heavier, seriously, with depth.
When people can’t tell whether you’re joking or not, whether they should take you seriously or whether they should be wary of themselves around you is something you might be prone to do
Someone who probably smiles while saying something potentially scary/out of the blue and make people look at them
(Watch that you don’t snap out of the blue or become sarcastic as a ‘confronting others’ manuever, You can be passive aggressive if you do that)
Also-- you’re probably pretty good at Cards Against Humanity
These Scorpio/Gemini people can talk to anyone, with the influential gift of gab they can convince others of anything even if they aren’t trying so hard to do
Scorpio/Gemini tends to be a lil more self-reliant, but in a way that isn’t heavy (can be superficial) because your Moon relies on responses (instantaneous)--- when you’re bored or doesn’t find interest in it anymore-- you can tend to discard a project and move on just like that
You’re self-governing, when your Scorpio/Gemini works together-- someone who does things because they can/want to-- and kind of act a lil devious like a Chesire Cat (curious by nature, but also morally ambiguous) 
You aren’t bounded by ‘nobility’ or ‘honour’ like Capricorn or Leo -- you’re a free agent who has mobility over yourself and what you cater your interests to
In a way-- your carefully crafted ‘flippant’ nature (that garners reaction/responses from others) -- can drive you to both preen/be proud of yourself, but also a source of your superficiality
Again-- it comes to the first point, you think self-acceptance can happen when you’ve aligned yourself. But what can you align if you don’t hold Gemini-Moon accountable for it’s influence, impact and consequences of your action (or inaction)
Understand that--- sometimes when you think you are emotional, it’s mostly for show/attempts to ‘connect’ to your Scorpio emotionality. You can sometimes be prone to acting irrationally/acting out mostly because you are still somewhat detached/disconnected from your feeling
If you doubt whether you have ‘real’ feelings at all (bc of your Gemini making you question yourself, as it does everything else) -- make sure to evaluate how you can deal with your own self-satisfaction and funnel it into desire to change/not be so self-satisfied with your behaviour (acting ‘casual’ about it) 
Your Scorpio Sun is where your strength/self-discovery will lie-- if you focus on it as a transformative power (all-consuming, regenerative, non-negotiable) you will have to find yourself confronting your own ultimatums. And answer to your own actions/results/negligence.
I hope this helps! 💕💕💕
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findtheloveofmylife · 5 years
Text
Something Stupid (IV)
Pairing: Roger Taylor x OC (Lily Hathaway)
Summary: He was not the type to pine or whatever you wanted to call it. It usually was the opposite, they pined for him, they wanted to be with him, which is probably why he was way out of his element with her.
Author’s Note: Sorry this took a while. I accidentally deleted this chapter and I had to start from scratch again (but it’s okay, it’s here). It’s a little short but I think that’s fine, I just needed to get this part over.
I mention a while back that if anyone’s interested in being tagged for this story, messaged me so I can add you to the tag list :)
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Part I // Part II // Part III // Part IV
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Before the whole Lily situation, it wasn't uncommon for Roger to be with a girl for a few weeks or months. It was rare when he was with someone more than a year. One girl, in particular, Kathy, fell in the category of a few weeks. And the reason he even remembered her was because of Lily and her uncanny ability to make everything go back to her.
Like most girls, Roger had met Kathy at a bar after their band had played, and well, he had liked her enough to have her stick around. He wasn’t her boyfriend and she wasn’t her girlfriend, it was just something casual. She was just another girl that he would soon forget about, as horrible it sounded.
Everyone was so used to Roger’s casual approach to romance that he didn’t think anyone would say something about his current relationship with Kathy. But of course, that didn’t happen this time around. Lily had to say something about it.
He was slowly realizing how nosy Lily was when it comes to people’s love life. A prime example being Lily’s obsession with trying to set up John, who refused to go on dates with the girls Lily always suggested (everyone was pretty sure John refused just to spite her). So, Roger should’ve known that he would fall victim of her nosiness at one point.
It happened one afternoon when Roger decided to show up extra early to practice because he wanted to try something new in his set and didn’t want any of the guys inputting their ‘helpful’ suggestions. The first person to arrive had been Lily. He was surprised to see her alone, she usually showed up with John by her side, but gave her a nod in acknowledgment.
“Hello, hello,” Lily said as she took a seat on the nearest couch. “Why are you here alone? Where’s your girlfriend?”
Roger ignored her greeting and frowned. “What?”
“Kathy,” she elaborated, discarding her jacket and folding it neatly.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said quickly.
“Really?” she said and when he nodded, she did a poor job hiding her surprise. “Hmm.”
“What now?” he said irritatedly, not liking the condescending tone Lily used.
“I didn’t say anything,” she said innocently, making him give her a glare. She relented easily. “Alright, Alright. Is just that... are you sure Kathy's not your girlfriend?”
“I would know if I had a girlfriend.”
Lily laughed loudly as if that had been the funniest joke she’s heard and shook her head. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“What do you mean I wouldn’t?” he demanded.
“Sometimes guys are the last to know.” Lily smiled at him. “And something tells me that you’re not the person that is self-aware of their feelings.”
He was offended at that, which honestly he shouldn’t have. He had no idea how right she was going to be.
“Kathy and are not in a relationship,” he repeated firmly.
“Alright,” she said and glanced around the studio. Something caught her attention and she stood up, going towards a chair. She picked up a sweater and examined it. Roger looked at her cautiously, she turned around, still holding the sweater. “Is this Kathy’s?”
“I don't, I think so,” he said slowly.
“Isn't this where you typically dumped all your stuff?”
“Yes.”
“You know, I leave my stuff in my boyfriend's locker all that time,” she said casually, putting down the sweater and going towards Roger, who sighed in exasperation.
“Kathy is not my girlfriend.”
“Then why would Kathy leave a sweater in an area that is specifically yours if she's not your girlfriend?”
Roger opened his mouth but closed it, shaking his head. “Maybe someone moved it,” he finally said.
“Maybe,” she agreed easily. She glanced around the room again but made no move to go back to the couch. Her face was set in a frown as if she was concentrating something really hard on something. Roger had seen her wear that look often when she was about to do something that would annoy John and amuse Freddie.
“Why isn't John here?” he asked, feeling the need to distract Lily. Her head snapped towards him, taken back by his question.
“He forgot something home, so he told me to meet you guys here,” she explained. “Where's Kathy?”
Fuck. So much for distracting Lily.
“I don't know,” he answered honestly. He hadn't spoken with Kathy since he last saw her, which happened to be the previous night.
“Why do you think she's not your girlfriend?”
“Why do you think she's my girlfriend?” he shot back.
Lily brightened at that. “I am so glad you asked me that. Let’s review your guy's history, shall we?”
“Please don’t,” he sighed. If Lily was questioning his relationship with Kathy, he was certain that Kathy herself would start asking questions about them and he didn’t need that. “Why do you care if I have a girlfriend? Are you that bored with the American?”
“No, I’m not. I’m very happy with him, thanks for asking. Deacy says that I’m just annoying and nosy.”
“Yeah, you are annoying and nosy and irritating,” he agreed.
She didn’t seem to be bothered hearing that. “Anyways, going back to you. There's a lot of signs that show you're in a relationship, and I am positive that you and Kathy meet many of them.”
“I doubt it,” he said flatly.
“Oh, you would be surprised,” Lily disagreed. “Have you guys seen each other more than four days a week?”
“I’m not doing this,” he warned her.
She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I’m going with yes because I’ve seen you three times this week and so far she’s been by your side each time and it’s only Thursday.”
Roger glared at Lily.
“Has she met all your friends? Again, I’m going with yes because you literally only hang out with the guys. Seriously, do any of you guys have friends outside of this group?”
Roger continued glaring at Lily.
“Does she spend the night? Wait. That’s a stupid question. Of course, she does.”
Roger grunted.
“Do you guys do more things besides having sex?”
Roger shook his head in disbelief. She needed to stop talking. She was making too much sense for his liking.
“Do you look forward to seeing her?”
Roger really wanted to shut Lily up.
“Do you notice when she’s not around?”
Roger wondered how upset would John be if he threw his drum kit at Lily.
“Ooh, do you love her?” she asked teasingly.
“Lily,” he gritted through his teeth, his finger curl around his drumsticks tightly. Lily seemed to notice that he was reaching the end of his patience and raised her hands in surrender. When she started heading back in the couch, Roger thought he had heard the end of it, but of course, it was Lily he was talking about.
“Your lack of answers is an answer itself. I know that you and Kathy check off at least half of it.”
“Goddammit,” he said under his breath.
“Whether you like it or not, she’s your girlfriend, dude.”
“Dude?”
“Matt says that’s it’s almost the same thing at mate,” she explained.
“Matt’s an idiot,” Roger said flatly.
“But he’s my idiot,” Lily said fondly and Roger knew at that moment, no matter what requirements they checked off, that Kathy wasn’t (and would probably never be) his girlfriend because there wasn’t that fondness between Kathy and him that Lily had with her American.
“Hmm,” Roger grunted, making Lily smiled at him.
“I like Kathy,” Lily admitted. “She’s... nice.”
“You think everyone is nice.”
“That’s not true. I think you’re an asshole,” she corrected him, making him smile despite his irritation at her. “But going back to Kathy, to be honest, the reason I like her is that I feel like you're less temperamental with her around.”
“What does that mean?”
“Means fewer things have been thrown.”
“I’m about to change that if you don’t stop talking Kathy,” he warned her, wagging a drumstick at her menacingly.
“Alright, I get it, she’s not your girlfriend. I am no longer going to say something.”
Roger doubted she would keep her promises but nodded gratefully at her. “Finally something smart comes out of your mouth.”
“Excuse you, I am very smart.”
“If you say so,” he said mockingly, making Lily make a rude hand gesture towards him. John appeared seconds later, looking out of breath and went straight to Lily.
“What’s going on?” he asked, not missing the annoyed look on Roger’s face.
“Nothing that should worry you,” Lily said and pulled on his arm excitedly. “But I do have something to talk to you about.”
“Oh no,” John said, pulling away from her grip. “I know what it is and I don’t want to hear it. I said no three times already.”
“No, no, no it’s not about Alice. I promise you,” she assured him, making John stop trying to get away from her.
“What is it then?” he asked suspiciously.
“Are you free this Saturday? I wanted to invite you to dinner with me and Matt.”
“Oh, right.” John was silent for a long moment, making Roger glance over at them. John look like was struggling to find an excuse and still annoyed at Lily, Roger found himself speaking up.
“John can't go. We’re going out to this bar on Saturday.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lily said, looking at John skeptically, who nodded quickly.
“Roger didn’t really give me much of choice,” he said, shrugging.
“Oh.” Lily looked disappointed but nodded. “That’s alright. Another night then.”
“Sorry, Lils,” John said, sounding as if he was truly sincere about being supposedly busy that night. “Maybe next week. I promise I won’t make plans.”
“Fine,” Lily said shortly, and promptly left the room. Roger looked at John curiously, and not surprisingly, John was too busy fiddling with his guitar to look over at him or Lily. Roger didn't get a chance to question him because soon everyone showed up, and the band started rehearsal.
Sometime between breaks, Roger had barely noticed that Kathy had shown up, and was talking to Lily and Mary. He felt a twinge annoyance at her announced appearance but he didn’t let her know when she approached him during one of their breaks.
“Did you leave your jacket?” he asked her.
“Oh, yeah, I did,” Kathy said, glancing over where it was. “Why? Is it not there anymore?”
“Its there. Just don’t leave it again,” he said tersely and went back to his drums.
And that’s number four, Lily’s cheery voice sounded in the back of his head as he went home with Kathy at the end of rehearsal.
A week later he broke things off with Kathy.
It wasn’t because of the conversation he had with Lily, no matter what exasperated look she gave him when he showed up with a new girl a few days later. His reasoning behind it was that he wasn’t as interested in Kathy as he was in the beginning. He didn’t want to do something stupid like start ignoring her calls or be caught fooling around with another girl.
Like he had said, it wasn’t unusual for him to move on from girl to girl in a span of few days. He wasn’t a relationship person, unlike Freddie or Brian, or even Lily. Which is probably why he didn’t see how much Lily’s pesky questions had stuck in the back of his head.
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Tag List:
@the-freak-cassie-131, @goingslightlymaaad, @verkyun
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thesinglesjukebox · 6 years
Video
youtube
JUICE WRLD FT. FUTURE - FINE CHINA
[2.90]
Don't look to us to clean up this mess...
Katie Gill: Bad points: this song is bizarrely short and the chorus makes up a solid 75 per cent of it. This means we get to hear Juice WRLD happily sing about how he'll kill his girl and hit us with some blatant transphobia over and over again. Good points: Future's verse is so friggen stupid that it somehow manages to be completely amazing while also being completely dumb. [2]
Ryo Miyauchi: The chorus just gets worse and worse. Thousand-dollar price tag is a backhanded compliment coming from a rapper who got Future on his side, and the only time I've ever really noticed fine china plates is when they break. You'd think Juice WRLD threatening to murder his love if she decides to break up is terrifying, but then he brushes it off as some kind of cute joke, sliding in "oh, did I just say that out loud" like a violently vengeful Urkel. His affections feel repulsively sour after that, no matter how sweet he coaxes it with melody. [4]
Will Rivitz: Chief among the endless churn of hip-hop thinkpieces are #takes about the glorification of putatively negative concepts in popular rap songs. It remains endlessly popular because of the endless variation within how artists portray contentious things as well as how listeners react to those portrayals. One can present everything from drug usage to interpersonal relationships constructively and incisively or harmfully and lazily, even within the same song, which makes the spin cycle of reactions continually compelling though the overarching genre remains the same. Here, Juice WRLD and Future, caterwauling transphobia and possessive psychological abuse, justify the most negative of these critiques. Extra minus points for Juice WRLD unintentionally arguing in support of using euphemisms for "vagina" instead of the word itself; his mealy-mouthing of those three syllables makes my skin crawl. [2]
Crystal Leww: The pervasive narrative in mainstream rap media is that Lil Uzi Vert is music for the youths that olds can rock with because (1) the melodies popped, (2) the song structures are good, and (3) his lyrical musings about depression were relatable, even surprisingly elegant. This narrative has been largely written by olds, unsurprisingly, and the olds do not seem to have a similar amount of generosity for Juice WRLD, despite their similar styles. This is largely driven by a disdain for unfortunate lines like "so if she leaves, I'mma kill her, oh, she'll die," which like, yes -- in this hip hop hellscape that is now straight up turning someone as hateful and repugnant as XXXTentacion into a martyr -- it's very bad! On the other hand, I cannot bring myself to be patronizing about this -- this is music clearly not made for me, the melodies pop, and you cannot tell me there's a funnier line in a Hot 100 song this year than "Shorty like a ten thousand plate, FINE CHINA." [7]
Taylor Alatorre: Juice WRLD is pretty good at writing chorus melodies. He's even better at writing parodies of Juice WRLD lyrics. He gets by on his willingness to take advantage of the fact that nobody knows what level of irony anyone is on anymore. So he says he's going to kill this girl if she leaves him, which is bad, but it's so over-the-top that he can't possibly be serious, so it's fine, but he's still putting the idea out there, which is bad, but he admits he shouldn't be saying it out loud, so it's self-aware. After going through this cycle of contortions, you're left with the realization that, however benign or toxic, it's just not that interesting. I briefly held out hope that one of the lyrics was "pussy-hatted vagina," which would've at least shown a sort of reactionary political awareness, but no, it's just gender-based reaction. Future sounds so comparatively mature that one has to wonder why he signed on to this project in the first place; is it trend-hopping to hop on a trend that you had a large part in creating? [4]
Anthony Easton: Oh, it's transphobic as hell, and the line about killing her is a third rail of toxic masculinity, and the lake line is cribbed from Cardi B's much better "Bodak Yellow," but I'm oddly charmed by the idea of a pussy like Spode, and Future sells the whole mess. [3]
Andy Hutchins: I do not think Juice WRLD should be allowed to have any communication with women. But it is good to see that Future still knows his planets despite his favorite one not technically being one! [2]
Thomas Inskeep: "If she leaves I'mma kill her," Juice WRLD says, and unfortunately, I believe the asshole. Future, what are you thinking? [0]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: The only vaguely commendable thing about "Fine China" is Wheezy's production, which does its jaunty best to prevent you from paying attention to what the rappers it carries are actually saying. On that front, Juice WRLD continues his pursuit of the perfect balance between reprehensible and boring while Future seems resigned to the latter. [0]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: It's easy to get a sense of rap's quick cycling of all-stars when you work in a high school. Three years ago, some of my students were excited about Young Thug. The freshmen this year? They don't know who he is, but they all love Lil Baby. Last year, one student called Kevin Gates a "respectable old head." This year, the new kids only really know him as the dude who collaborated with NBA YoungBoy. If there's a single rapper right now who all my students are into -- from freshmen to seniors -- it's Juice WRLD. He makes miserablist rap that's quasi-similar to Future's previous music, but he doesn't really rap; dude just makes 2000s emo with a rap veneer, the latter informing his music as the drug-fueled histrionics it is. Kids are here for the Juice, so the end result is a sing-songy tune that finds Future's Auto-Tune warbles supporting the simplistic hook-as-everything modus operandi that defines virtually all of Juice's music. It's fine; his best music is always his most harrowing, his most depressing. But that sort of begs the question: why are critics less eager to champion Juice WRLD than Lil Peep or Lil Uzi Vert? Does something have to be objectively more sad in order to justify any questionable lyrics? Why is sadness always measured in the most obvious ways? Whatever the case, Juice WRLD will likely be forgotten in a few years time, a random blip in a line of artists who provided youth with a sense of angst-ridden release. "Fine China" won't be remembered as one of his best songs because it's decidedly not sad. Juice WRLD won't end up on any critics' lists because he's not sad enough. That's a good thing, right? [5]
[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]
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nateisadick-blog · 6 years
Text
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(DACRE MONTGOMERY, CISMALE, HE/HIM) you’ve probably already heard of NATHANIEL TAYLOR through the LA music scene. the TWENTY-THREE year old is the RHYTHM GUITARIST & CO-LEAD VOCALS of the band SHY VIOLETS, an INDIE POP band that has FOUR members & sounds kind of like GROUPLOVE, FICKLE FRIENDS & THE KOOKS. NATE is said to be EASYGOING but also SKEPTICAL. i wonder what bandslam makes of them?
bio !!
nathaniel drake taylor was born and raised in san francisco, california.
his mother, a concert pianist, instilled music in him from birth---she taught him piano as soon as he had the dexterity to press the keys.
as he grew up, he gravitated more and more towards other instruments---the one that held most wonder to him most was guitar. when his mother found out, she made nate a deal that as long as he continued piano, he could do guitar as well. he took it without question.
though, growing up with music as a second language made it so that he wanted, he had to find more ways to express himself. he started chasing other instruments, as well
his father, an architect, who was clueless about music but aware of nate’s noted love for music, tried to help. for christmas one year, he got nate a ukelele and it all started from there---nate started practicing it with fervor, gravitating more towards instruments with strings
with the help of his family and part time job delivering newspapers, he even bought himself a mandolin for his own birthday
though---he didn’t get to practice this mandolin very much, given that his parents divorced less than a year later, when he was thirteen. after this, he moved to woodland hills, california with his mom, where she still lives.
the next two years were spend mastering the guitar, the ukeleke, the mandolin, saving up money to buy himself a collection of many other instruments
though his mother she never really called him out on focusing away from piano, she never really approved of it which led nate to find acceptance elsewhere, and he found it when he was fifteen and he started going out to shows and gigs around LA, immersing himself in the scene and making friends all over.
around this time, he also started recording himself and putting videos up on youtube of just him and his guitar. he continued this on and off for a few years and still, to this day, posts covers sometimes when he’s bored.
at nineteen, he moved out of his mom’s house, getting a place with geeta in the city. he started college after a year of working at the jukebox in any shift that would take him.
even though he was posting videos to youtube, he was never discovered per se---rather, he discovered his future by himself, finding a place amongst the violets and sticking to it until the shy violets became his friends, family, band, and life partners all in one
he never really expected them to be famous with them. a part of him wanted the fame, for the fact of being recognized on the street, but he never expected it.
nowadays, he’s banking on the band working out because he dropped out of college and quit his job for it.
fun facts !!
a comprehensive list of instruments nate can play:
guitar (his fave)
piano
harpsichord (for real, his mom taught him)
keytar 
ukelele
kalimba
mandolin
harp
wants to learn drums and bass someday
he knows how to cook, though just enough to survive. (he counts being able to cook pasta as cooking, okay? burning things is another matter.) 
his mom used to play in a classical setting when he was younger so there’s pictures somewhere of nate on stage with his mom helping her play the piano in a lil baby three piece suit
a..... fuckboy. honestly, textbook definition. “haha without me? ;)” and everything
wanted connections !!
EXES: any gender! could have ended amicably or terribly, i’m a sucker for either. [open, slot number tbd]
FWB: any gender! can be ongoing or in the past! [open, many slots]
ONE NIGHT STANDS: again, any gender. nate is a party boy, goes out almost every weekend and is up for anything. pretty self-explanatory. [no limit, my mans is a hoe]
FRIENDS FROM LA: he’s lived in LA since he was thirteen so maybe people from high school? maybe people from when nate started going to see bands and hanging out in smaller venues and such? [open, no limit]
FANS OF HIS MOM: she was pretty famous and a musical assistant for a few different orchestras around san fran and can play anything with keys. in recent years, she’s been the on-call pianist for movie scores in LA so her name’s kind of well known. nate’s feelings about her are mixed but your character could know and admire her because she is determined, to say the least [open, 0/1?]
FANS OF HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL: nate’s been pretty inconsistent with his youtube channel in the past few years, only posting a video every few months, but your character could’ve found him and stuck with him, maybe even cherished every upload [open, 0/1]
DOUCHE FRIENDS: people who don’t care he’s a fuckboy, and, instead, encourage his tendencies [open, as many douches as there could be]
UNEXPECTED SOFT FRIEND: nate’s only vulnerable to those who really, truly know him. your character could be a soft one who thinks there’s more to nate than just fuckboy douchebag. someone gimme a contrast to this leather jacket wearing mans. [open, 0/1]
ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF: im here for any and all plots please love my boy as much as i do, thank u [open, pls love me]
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pr · 3 years
Note
kind of a weird ask maybe? you seem to like the fear street movies on netflix and I’ve been wanting to watch. one of my worries is they are gonna be like, “too young” for me or they are terribly cheesy haha. for context, I’m close to taylor’s age. I know you’re slightly younger, but do you think I’ll still enjoy? sorry if this comes off bitchy or condescending, I promise this is genuine ❤️
Nono you're so fine, I appreciate that you want my opinion!!! Have you seen Scream? It is very very reminiscent of that vibe, self-aware of the camp that comes with being a slasher and makes every second of it entertaining even if it isn't like "scary" ykwim. If you like Scream you'll LOVE Fear Street!
Also the plot actually has a lot of details to the point where as soon as you're done you'll want to rewatch it to find everything you missed lol. Which definitely feels more well-written than like a childish, spoon feeding plot ya kno? It's definitely intended to be our age range, more so than something like Stranger Things imo. Like I'd show that to my 13 y/o brother-in-law but not Fear Street imo.
Also also: the lesbians will make you cry. The third movie made me bawl my eyes out. Despite its campy fun nature oh my GOD it emotionally HITS. Kiana is an incredibly talented actress (the whole ensemble is fabulous, she is just the definite standout).
The only downside I would say is if you like horror/slashers and expect a lot of gore, there's actually not a ton in this movie? One of my friends who loves those kinda films was a lil disappointed there wasn't more "slashy stabby kill" content lol. But for me I don't like excessive gore and it was totally manageable. A lot of fake blood and cuts mostly. The Big Kills with prosthetics that are gruesome you will see coming and can close your eyes. They're also over very quick and not gratuitous.
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